3961  0  Z  d3S 


OF  THE 

U  N  I  VERS  ITY 
OF  ILLINOIS 


557 

P38m 

V.  V 


4 


I 

Si 


PLATE  2.  STRUCTURE  CONTOUR  MAP  ON  TOP  OF  TEIE  CORNING  MEMBER 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS  V.  PI .2. 


SECOND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEj 
OF  PEN  NSYLVAN  IA. 

GEOLOGICAL  MAP" 

OF 

NORTHERN  BUlfcBM 

J.P.  LESLEY,  STATE  GEOLOGIST. 

II.Martyn  Chance ,  As  st .  Geologist. 

1879. 

Scale:  2  Miles  to  1  Inch 


Contours  50  feet  vertically  apart,. 
Unproductive  test  welds  indicated  b 


V  E  N  A  N  GO 


COUNTY 


LIST  OF  TOWNSHIPS 

1.  Muddy  Creek  10.  Fairview 

2.  Franklin  11.  Slippery  Rock  ^ 

3.  Centre  12.  Cherry 

4.  Oakland  13.  Washington 

14.  Parker 

15.  Mercer 

16.  Mini  oil 
IT.  Venango 


5.  Donegal 

6.  Worth 

7.  Brady 

8.  Clay 


9.  Concord  18.  Allegheny 


explanation  of  colors 

Lower  Ilnrroi  Measures 
[‘°"Tr  lYoductive  Coal  M 

Fimt.i  fen  ms  Limestone 

Conglomerate  Series XII 


JULIUS  BIEN  PHOTOUTH.  NEW  YORK. 


LANES. HART. STATE  PRINTER 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS  V.P1.5. 


Neshannock 

_J| 


SECOND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 


MAP 

of  Instrumental  Survey 
OF  THE  VALLEYS 

OF  T  HE 

BEAVER  AND  SHENANGO  RIVERS 

ART  D 

SLIPPERY  ROCK  CREEK 

CHECKED  BY  RAILWAY  ALIGNMENT  NOTES.) 


.  I.  P.  LE  S L ETY,  STATE  (TE 0 L oc.t S T 
II  Jlartyn  Chance ,  Asst .  Geologist . 


LANES. HART,. STATE  PRINTER 


I 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS  VIM  1 


L/»  M  L  b.MARI,  ij  T  A  ft:  PKINILH 


JULIUS  1311 N  PHOrOLMli.  Nl  W  YORK 


RIVEjf 


'■i 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS  V.PL  7 


SECOND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 
OF 

PENNSYLVAN  IA 


PROFILE  SECTION  FROM  HOMEWOOD  TO  SHARON 

CONSTlirCTLI)  FROM  DATA  OBTAINED  ALONG- 

THE  BEAVER  AND  SHENANGO  RIVERS 

IN  1875  AND  INTENDED  TO  SHOW  THE  RELATIONSHIP  OF  THE 

POTTSVILLE  CONGLOMERATE  MEASURES  (N°XII) 

LOWER  PRODUCTIVE  COAL  MEASURES 

K  BEAVER, LAWRENCE  AND MERCER  COUNTIES. 

J.P LESLEY,  State  Oeolooist 

H.Marlvn  CJaan.ce,  ilsst.  Geolodist. 


Note  Nothing  is  introduced  into  the  Section  which  was  not.  act u atty 
observed  The  Sandrocks  alone  are  represented '  by  stippling; Stmle 
and  Slate  between  the  Sandrocks  are  left  blank,  in  order  to  show 
plainly  the  Integrity  and  also  the  variability  of  the  Sandrock group 


Scale : 

Vertical  4oo‘ :  l" 

Horizontal  !6ouo':l 

Hcctzo  of  exaggeration  4o  :  t 


2? 

CN 

<5 

c 

§ 

UJ 

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1876, 


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ki 

CQ 


JULIUS  BIEN  PHOTOUTH.  NEW  YORK, 


LANES  HART, .STATE  PRINTER,' 


Sharon  i46toit8 


REPORT  OP  PROGRESS  V.PL3. 


(REDDICK 
COLUMBIA 


A  MAP 

%  IN  TWENTY-FOOT  CONTOUR  LINES 

OF  THE 

ALLEGHENY  VALLEY' 

NEAR  PARKER  IN 

ARMSTRONG  &  BUTLER  COUNTIES 

J  P.LESAEY,  STATE  GEOLOGIST 
H.  Martjn  Chance, Assisi.  Geologist. 

Arthur  Hale,  Aid. 

18  7  9. 


Scale  1200  Feet  —  One  Inch 


2400 

d 


C LA  R70N 
RIVER 


Outcrop  of  Ferriferous  Limestone,  finis 
Outcrop  of  Coals,  thus 

900,1000  Ac.  mean  900  feet  above  Ude.&c 


JULIOS  fhEN  PHOTO LITH.  NEW  YORK. 


LANES. HART,. STATE  PRINTER 


* 


t 


- 


I 


SECOND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA: 

REPORT  OF  PEOGEESS 

Y. 


PART  FIRST. 

THE  NORTHERN  TOWNSHIPS 

OF 

BUTLER  COUNTY. 


PART  SECOND. 

A  SPECIAL  SURVEY  MADE  IN  1875 

ALONG  THE 

BEAVER  AND  SHENANGO  RIVERS 

IN  BEAVER,  LAWRENCE  AND  MERCER  COUNTIES. 


WITH  4  MAPS,  1  PROFILE  SECTION  AND  154  VERTICAL  SECTIONS. 


By  H.  MARTYN  CHANCE. 


HARRISBURG: 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS 
FOR  THE  SECOND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

18  7  9. 


Entered,  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1879,  according 

to  acts  of  Congress, 

By  WILLIAM  A.  INGHAM, 

Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Geological  Survey , 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at 
Washington,  D.  C. 


Stereotyped  and  printed  by 
LANE  S.  HART,  State  Printer, 
Harrisburg,  Pa. 


\Je  ^ 


BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS. 


His  Excellency,  HENRY  M.  HOYT,  Governor , 

and  ex-officio  President  of  the  Board,  Harrisburg. 


Amo  Pakdee,  ---------- 

William  A.  Ixgiiam,  ------- 

Henry  S.  Eckert,  -------- 

Henry  McCormick,  -------- 

James  Macfarlane,  -------- 

John  B.  Pearse,  --------- 

Joseph  Wlllcox,  -  - . 

Hon.  Daniel  J.  Morrell,  ------ 

Henry  W.  Oliver,  -------- 

Samuel  Q.  Brown,  -------- 


Hazleton. 

Philadelphia. 

Reading. 

Harrisburg. 

Towanda. 

Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia. 

Johnstown. 

Pittsburgh. 

Pleasantville. 


SECRETARY  OF  THE  BOARD. 
William  A.  Ingham,  -------  Philadelphia. 


STATE  GEOLOGIST. 

Peter  Lesley,  - . 


Philadelphia. 


1879. 

ASSISTANT  GEOLOGISTS. 

Persifor  Frazer,  Jr. — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  Adams,  York, 
Lancaster  and  Chester  counties. 

A.  E.  Lehman — Topographical  Assistant,  for  mapping  the  South  Mountains. 

Frederick  Prime,  Jr. — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  Northampton, 
Lehigh,  and  Berks  counties. 

A.  P.  Berlin — Topographical  Assistant,  for  mapping  the  Easton-Reading 
range. 

Franklin  Platt — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  Blair  county,  and  the 
coal  fields  of  Tioga,  Bradford,  Potter,  Lycoming,  Sullivan  and  Wyoming 
counties. 

W.  A.  Fellows. —  Aid  for  running  outcrops  in  Bedford  and  Center  coun¬ 
ties. 

W.  G.  Platt — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  Indiana  and  Armstrong 
counties. 

R.  H.  Sanders — Topographical  Assistant  in  Blair,  Cumberland,  Dauphin 
and  Lebanon  counties. 

I.  C.  White — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  Mercer  county. 

J.  F.  Carll — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  the  Oil  Regions. 

H.  M.  Chance — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  North  Butler  and  Clinton 
counties. 

C.  A.  Ashburner — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  McKean,  Elk,  Came¬ 
ron  and  Forest  counties. 

A.  W.  Sheafer — Aid  in  McKean  county,  Ac. 

C.  E.  Billin — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  Union,  Snyder,  South 
Lycoming,  South  Clinton  counties,  Ac. 

C.  W.  Ames — Aid  for  cross  section  through  Franklin,  Fulton  and  Bedford 
counties. 

F.  A.  Genth — Mineralogist  and  Chemist  at  Philadelphia. 

F.  A.  Genth,  Jr — Aid  in  the  Laboratory. 

A.  S.  McCreath — Chemist,  in  charge  of  the  Laboratory  of  the  Survey,  223 
Market  street,  Harrisburg. 

S.  S.  Hartranft — Aid  in  the  Laboratory. 

C.  E.  Hall — Geologist  in  charge  of  the  Survey  of  Bucks  and  Philadelphia 
counties,  and  Palaeontologist  in  charge  of  the  Museum. 

E.  Y.  D’Invilliers — Aid  in  Collecting,  and  Museum  work. 

Leo  Lesquereux — Fossil  Botanist,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

E.  B.  Harden— Topographer  in  charge  of  Office  Work,  Ac.  1008  Clinton  street, 
Philadelphia. 

Charles  Allen — Assistant  in  locating  outcrops  in  Delaware  county,  and 
for  Records  of  Railroad  and  other  Levels,  Harrisburg. 

F.  W.  Forman — Clerk  in  charge  of  the  Publications  of  the  Survey,  223  Market 
street,  Harrisburg. 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


Philadelphia,  April  23,  1879. 
Prof.  J.  P.  Lesley,  State  Geologist : 

Sir  :  In  submitting  for  your  examination  and  approval 
the  following  report  on  northern  Butler,  I  desire  to  invite 
your  attention  to  the  following  points  : 

1.  The  well  records  and  well  elevations  engrossed  in  Chap¬ 
ter  X  are  reproduced  from  Report  of  Progress  1. 1.  by  Mr. 
J ohn  F.  Carll,  1877,  as  necessary  for  the  complete  illustration 
of  the  stratigraphy  of  my  district ; 

2.  Certain  sections  along  Slippery  Rock  Creek  at  no  great 
distance  inside  and  outside  the  western  line  of  Butler 
County,  obtained  by  me  in  1875,  are  also  included  in  this 
report  for  the  same  reason ; 

3.  The  instrumental  survey  of  the  Beaver  and  Shenango 
Yalley  which  you  directed  me  to  make  in  1875,  and  on 
which  I  reported  to  you  in  the  winter  of  1875-6,  is  in¬ 
cluded  as  Part  II  in  this  volume.  The  delay  of  its  publi¬ 
cation  now  permits  me  to  explain  the  relations  of  its  no¬ 
menclature  with  that  of  Prof.  White’s  subsequent  reports 
on  Beaver  and  Lawrence  Counties,  Q,  1878,  and  QQ,  in  press, 
1879; 

4.  My  thanks  are  due  to  several  gentlemen  who  have 
materially  aided  my  surveys  by  furnishing  copies  of  old 
surveys,  levels,  maps,  and  well  records ;  and  among  these 
I  would  specially  mention  Messrs.  Reis,  Brown,  and  Berger, 
and  Phillips  Bros,  of  New  Castle,  Mr.  Slataper  of  the 
Pennsylvania  railroad,  Pittsburgh,  Mr.  John  Strawbridge, 

O) 


vi  Y. 


REPORT  OE  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


M.  E.  and  Mr.  John  Nichols,  C.  E.  of  Sliaron,  Mr.  Bur¬ 
nett  of  Greenville,  and  Mr.  Robert  Allen  of  Prospect ; 

5.  In  calculating  the  dip  of  the  Sharon  Coal  bed  in  1875, 
and  subsequently  in  determining  the  dip  of  the  oil  sands 
for  Mr.  Carll’s  Report  I.I.I.,  the  question  arose :  “How  can 
we  determine  whether  a  given  rock  conforms  to  a  plane  or  to 
a  warped  surface  V 5  To  assist  in  answering  this  query  I 
deduced  the  formulae  given  in  a  foot  note  to  Chap.  1, 
Part  II. 

When  four  points  on  a  stratum  are  located  both  geo¬ 
graphically  and  hypsometrically,  and  the  rates  of  dip  be¬ 
tween  them  reduced  to  a  table,  proceed  as  follows  : 

Take  two  of  the  given  rates  and  calculate  by  the  formulae 
the  direction  and  strength  of  the  true  dip,  then  with  two 
other  rates  go  through  the  same  process  ;  if  the  second  re¬ 
sult  agrees  with  the  first,  the  stratum  probably  conforms 
to  a  true  plane,  but  if  they  disagree,  then  the  surface  of 
the  rock  is  a  curved  surface,  or  a  plane  broken  by  faults. 

A  very  pretty  graphic  method  for  determining  the  direc-  . 
tion  and  strength  of  greatest  dip  is  given  in  the  Geology  of 
Ohio,  Vol.  Ill,  page  940,  1879.  It  was  devised  by  Prof. 
R.  W.  McFarland,  of  the  Ohio  State  University.  The  an¬ 
nexed  figure  will  explain  the  method  more  clearly  than  a 
written  description : 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


Y.  vii 


Tlie  elevations  of  three  points,  A,  B,  and  C,  being  given, 
let  C  be  the  lowest  point.  Join  A  and  B  by  a  straight  line, 
and  perpendicular  to  it  draw  two  lines,  AE  and  BF.  On 
these  lines  lay  off  (on  any  scale)  the  respective  heights  of 
A  and  B  above  C.  Join  the  tops  of  the  perpendiculars  E 
and  F,  and  prolong  this  line  until  it  intersects  AB  prolonged 
in  a  point  G.  Draw  GC,  and  perpendicular  to  it  draw  AH, 
which  is  the  required  line  of  greatest  dip.  The  length  of 
this  line  divided  into  the  dip  between  A  and  C  will  give  the 
required  rate  per  mile. 

The  scale  used  in  laying  off  the  heights  AE  and  BF 
does  not  affect  the  position  of  the  point  G,  for  in  the  simi¬ 
lar  triangles  AGE  and  BGF,  the  proportion  AG  :  BG : : 
AE  :  BF,  is  always  true,  and  the  ratio  AG  :  BG,  (an/1  conse¬ 
quently  the  length  BG,  for  AG=BG-|-AB,  which  is  a  known 
quantity,)  is  dependent  upon  the  ratio  of  AE  to  BF,  and 
not  upon  their  lengths. 

In  this  construction  C  is  taken  as  the  zero  point,  and  as 
the  construction  proves  that  G  is  also  a  zero  point,  the  line 
CG  is  a  line  of  no  dip,  i.  e.,  the  “  strike.”  A  perpendicu¬ 
lar  to  it  is  the  line  of  greatest  dip. 

When  four  points  are  given  the  construction  may  be  re¬ 
peated  by  using  a  different  combination,  and  if  the  result¬ 
ing  dip  line  is  parallel  to  that  determined  by  the  first 
draught,  the  surface  of  the  rock  may  be  considered  a  plane. 

If  A  =  900  feet  above  tide, 

B  =  800  “  “  “ 

C  750  “  “  “ 

B  is  50  feet  above  C,  and 

A  is  150  feet  above  C. 

Then  BF=  50  feet,  and  AE  =  150  feet. 

In  the  figure,  AC  =  15  miles, 

AB  =  20  “ 

CB  =  30  u  and 

AH  measures  10x3^  miles  150  ft. -*-10. 3=14. 6  feet  per 
mile,  which  is  the  greatest  rate  of  descent  or  the  true  dip. 

cos  y  D"* 

The  formula  tan  x  = - - 

sin  y  D;  sin  y 


*  See  Part  II,  Cliap.  I. 


viii  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


applied  to  this  example  gives : 

5 

tan  x— co tan  116°  45' - ■ - - 

10  sin  116°  45', 

for  angle  CAB=116°  45'  by  measurement, 

D"=rate  of  dip  on  AB=(150' — 50')-s-20=  5  ft.  per  mile 

D'=rate  of  dip  on  AC=(150'—  0')-s-15=10  “  “  “ 


tan  x  =  — cotan  63°  15' — 


5 

_  • 

10  sin  63°  lg' 


tan  x  =  —  .504041— .5599  =  — 1.063941 
x  =  46f  °  —  angle  C AH 


When  the  tangent  of  x  is  minus  the  line  of  greatest  dip 
falls  between  the  two  given  courses,  when  plus  it  falls  out¬ 
side  the  line  AC.  The  angle  x  is  always  less  than  90°. 


D' 


Applying  D= - to  the  above  example  we  find  D  (or 

COS  X 

the  true  dip)  =  14. 6  feet  per  mile. 


Yours,  very  respectfully, 

H.  MARTYJST  CHANCE. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

REPORT  Y. 


Preface,  . .  v 

PART  I. — Northern  Butler  County. 

General  Geology. 

Page. 

Chapter  1.  Topography,  Drainage,  and  Surface  Geol¬ 

ogy,  •  . .  1 

Chapter  2.  Anticlinals  and  Synclinals  of  the  District,  9 

Chapter  3.  The  Barren  Measures, .  13 

Chapter  4.  The  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures  or 

Allegheny  River  Series  :  Freeport  Group, 
Kittanning  Group,  Clarion  Group,  ...  15 

Chapter  5.  The  Beaver  River  or  Conglomerate  Series 

(No.  XII) :  Mercer  Group,  Sharon  Group,  31 

i 

Detailed  Geology. 

Chapter  6.  First  tier  of  townships. 

Belt  of  Barren  Measures. 

Muddy  Creek  township, .  35 

Franklin  township, .  41 

Centre  township, .  48 

Oakland  township, .  52 

Donegal  township, .  55 

(ix) 


X  V. 


EEPOET  OF  PEOGEESS.  II.  M.  CIIAECE. 


Chapter  7.  Second  tier  of  townships. 

Belt  of  the  Freeport  Group. 

Worth  township, .  59 

Brady  township, .  71 

Clay  township, .  78 

Concord  township, .  83 

Fairview  township, .  86 

Chapter  8.  Third  tier  of  townships. 

Belt  of  the  Kit  tanning  Group. 

Slippery  Bock  township, .  93 

Cherry  township, . 101 

Washington  township, . 105 

Parker  township, . 114 

Chapter  9.  The  Fourth  tier  of  townships. 

Belt  of  the  Clarion  Group. 

Mercer  township, . 126 

Marion  township,  . 130 

Venango  township, . 133 

Allegheny  township, . 136 

Chapter  10.  The  Ferriferous  Limestone, . 141 


Its  geographical  extent ;  value  as  a  lime¬ 
stone  and  as  an  ore  bearing  rock ;  its 
lithology  and  fossils  compared  with 
other  limestones.  Its  importance  as  a 
“  key-rock.” 

Chapter  11.  The  Oil  Territory. 

Geological  and  historical  Sketch,  .  .  .  140 
Oil  Well  elevations  above  tide,  ....  156 
Oil  Well  records, . 165 

PABT  II. — Beavee  and  Shenango  Valleys. 

Chapter  1.  The  Mercer  Group  traced  from  Wurtem- 

burg  to  Sharon. 

Method  of  Survey,  ocean  level  elevations,  .  .  .  185 
Systematized  Section  of  Lower  Productive  Coal 


measures, . 186 

Wirtemberg  Section,  fig.  127,  . 189 


CONTENTS. 


Y.  xi 


Homewood  Furnace  Section,  fig.  128, . 190 

Slippery  Rock  Creek  Section,  fig.  129,  .....  191 

Cunningham  Farm  Section,  fig.  130,  . 191 

Homewood  Furnace  Section,  fig.  131, . 192 

Clinton  Section,  Ho.  1,  fig.  132, . 193 

Beatties’  Bank  Coal,  fig.  133,  . . 194 

Clinton  Section,  Ho.  2,  fig.  134, . 196 

Wampum  Section,  fig.  135, . 198 

The  Sharon  Coal  described, . 200 

Hog  Hollow  Sections,  Hos.  1,  2,  3,  figs.  136, 137, 138,  201 

Shenango  Iron  Company’s  Gas  Well, . 204 

Harbour  Bridge  Section,  fig.  140, .  207 

Fredericks  town  Axis, . 207 

Hashua  Section,  fig.  141, . 209 

Pulaski  Section,  fig.  142, . 210 

Love  Farm  bore  hole,  fig.  143a, . .  211 

Greenfield  bore  hole,  fig.  1435, . 211 

Middlesex  Section,  fig.  144,  212 

Bethel  Section,  fig.  145, . 213 

Bethel  Quarry  Section,  fig.  146, . 214 

Pacific  Slope  Section,  fig.  147, . 214 

Hip  of  the  Sharon  Block  Coal, . 215 

Sharon  Block  Coal  described,  . 216 

Sharon  Section,  fig.  148, . 218 

Sharon  Well  drilled  in  1877, .  219 

Chapter  2.  The  Conglomerate  Series  (Ho.  XII)  and 

the  Berea  Grit  or  Third  Mountain  Sand,  221 

* 

i 

List  of  Illustrations. 

Plate  1.  Sections  showing  the  Clarion  coal  split  into  two 
beds,  Figure  3. 

Plate  2.  Contoured  geological  map  of  Horthern  Butler. 

Plate  3.  Contoured  map  of  Parker. 

Plate  4.  Skeleton  map  showing  anticlinals  and  synclinals. 

Plate  5.  Map  of  the  Beaver  and  Shenango  Valleys. 

Plate  6.  Profile  section  from  Sharon  to  Homewood. 

Plate  7.  Five  Oil  well  records. 


PREFACE*. 


The  first  part  of  the  volume  which  is  now  published  pre¬ 
sents  the  results  of  certain  special  topographical  and  geo¬ 
logical  surveys  made  by  Mr.  Chance  while  acting  as  assistant 
to  Mr.  Carll  in  the  Butler  County  Oil  Region  in  1876,  and 
of  the  systematic  detailed  survey  of  the  fifteen  northern 
townships  of  the  county,  which  he  was  afterwards  commis¬ 
sioned  independently  to  make  in  1878. 

In  undertaking  this  survey  he  had  the  advantage  of  in¬ 
tercourse  for  consultation  with  Mr.  Carll  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  latter  in  Pleasantville,  where  many  of  his  illustra¬ 
tions  were  drawn ;  and  his  expressed  opinions  are  there¬ 
fore  in  most  respects  those  at  which  Mr.  Carll  had  arrived 
in  the  course  of  his  study  of  the  Oil  Regions  in  1874,  5  and 
6.  But  in  some  important  particulars  Mr.  Chance  arrived 
independently  at  views  common  to  both.  Mr.  Carll’ s 
manuscripts  on  the  limits  of  the  Conglomerate  system,  on 
the  ancient  drainage  of  the  country,  on  glacial  drift,  &c., 
written  in  1875  have  not  yet  been  published,  and  will  ap¬ 
pear  in  his  Report  1. 1. 1.  to  which  Mr.  Chance  more  than 
once  refers. 

The  second  part  of  this  volume  consists  of  Mr.  Chance’s 
report  of  a  survey  of  Slippery  Rock,  Shenango  and  Beaver 
river  valleys  which  he  was  directed  in  1875  to  make  for  the 
special  purpose  of  connecting  the  well  known  coal  measures 
of  the  Ohio  River  Valley  with  the  then  almost  unknown 
or  very  ill  understood  rocks  of  northern  Butler  and  Mercer 
counties.  This  was  a  year  before  Mr.  White  was  commis¬ 
sioned  to  pursue  a  systematic  township  survey  of  south 
Butler,  north  Allegheny  and  north  Beaver  counties,  (Re¬ 
port  Q,  published  in  1878). 

In  1877  Mr.  White  surveyed  Lawrence  county  (Report 

(xiii) 


xiv  v. 


PREFACE. 


QQ),  and  in  1878  Mercer  county  (Report  QQQ),  neither  of 
which  reports  have  yet  gone  through  the  press. 

Mr.  White’s  special  survey  of  the  Beaver  and  Mahoning, 
Ohio  and  Little  Beaver  valleys,  for  the  purpose  of  rectify¬ 
ing  a  serious  error  which  had  been  made  in  the  adjustment 
of  the  Coal  series  in  Ohio  and  in  Pennsylvania — the  report 
of  which  survey  makes  Part  Second  of  QQ,  and  is  called 
the  Ohio  Line  survey — led  him  over  part  of  Mr.  Chance’s 
previous  work,  now  first  published  as  Part  Second  of  this 
volume. 

We  have  therefore  two  entirely  independent  and  accord¬ 
ant  investigations  of  all  the  Coal  Measures  lying  beneath 
the  Ferriferous  Limestone  along  the  State  Line;  and  no 
one  will  be  likely  to  dispute  seriously  hereafter  this  part  of 
the  geology  of  Pennsylvania. 

Whatever  opinions  respecting  the  identification  of  the 
Berea  Grit,  Mountain  Sands  and  Oil  Sands  may  be  found 
expressed  in  this  volume  V,  and  in  QQ  and  QQQ,  must 
be  considered  of  subordinate  authority  to  the  detailed  dis¬ 
cussion  about  to  appear  in  Report  I.I.I.,  where  a  far  wider 
range  is  given  to  the  arguments,  and  a  more  copious  and 
precise  illustration  of  the  facts  has  been  possible. 

Both  Mr.  Chance  and  Mr.  White  have  shown  the  greatest 
zeal  and  ability  in  sectioning  the  valley  slopes  and  cliffs 
through  Beaver,  Lawrence,  Butler  and  Mercer  counties ; 
but  no  zeal  and  no  ability  can  overcome  all  the  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  obtaining  complete  sections  of  the  variable  ar¬ 
gillaceous  and  arenaceous  beds  beneath  the  Conglomerate. 
The  fact  is  made  evident  on  the  face  of  the  page  illustra¬ 
tions  by  the  numerous  blank  spaces  and  notes  of  interroga¬ 
tion  seen  in  the  section  cuts.  The  further  northward  from 
the  Ohio  river  such  work  advances  the  greater  become  these 
obstacles,  so  that  in  the  Sharon  district  it  is  almost  impos¬ 
sible  to  vouch  for  the  accuracy  of  the  whole  of  any  section. 
Since  there  is  seldom  seen  more  than  a  few  feet  of  rock  ex¬ 
posed  at  any  one  place  on  the  valley  slope  such  a  section 
must  be  compounded  out  of  numerous  unconnected  expos¬ 
ures  as  they  happen  to  be  obtainable  within  a  lateral  dis¬ 
tance  of  a  half  a  mile,  or  a  mile,  or  more.  Therefore, 


I 


PREFACE.  Y.  XV 

although  the  stratification  is  almost  absolutely  horizontal, 
yet,  as  barometric  measurements  are  never  precise,  and  the 
sand  rocks  are  so  numerous  and  so  variable,  there  will 
always  be  questions  of  identity  left  unanswered. 

It  is  in  the  region  of  oil  wells  that  the  order  of  our  un¬ 
derground  or  lower  rocks  must  be  discovered ;  and  four 
years  of  incessant  labor  has  placed  in  Mr.  Carll’s  hands  so 
large  a  body  of  well  records  that  no  doubt  can  reasonably 
be  entertained  respecting  the  general  correctness  of  his 
stratigraphical  conclusions  ;  as  will  be  evident  from  a  glance 
at  his  plates  of  grouped  oil-well  sections. 

At  the  same  time  it  is  proper  that  every  expert  observer 
should  not  only  be  expected  to  arrive  freely  at  his  own 
opinions  but  be  encouraged  by  their  publication  ;  provided 
always  that  the  public  be  guarded  against  mistaking  these 
individual  opinions  for  the  fixed  and  final  decisions  of  sci¬ 
ence.  Any  apparent  repetition  of  facts  and  statements  in 
the  reports  of  Mr.  Carll,  Mr.  Chance,  and  Mr.  White,  into 
whose  hands  our  Ohio  Line  geology  has  happily  fallen, 
merely  means  independent  observations  and  discussions  of 
that  geology ;  and  since  all  three  have  observed  substan¬ 
tially  the  same  facts,  where  their  districts  overlapped,  and 
have  arrived  at  conclusions  which  are  nearly  identical,  the 
people  of  Western  Pennsylvania  may  feel  confident  that, 
so  far  as  our  systematic  geology  is  concerned,  there  re¬ 
mains  little  more  to  discover ;  and  that  even  as  to  the  de¬ 
tails,  very  little  modification  or  alteration  is  to  be  expected 
in  the  future.* 

i 

The  concluding  chapters  of  this  volume  are  to  be  read  in 
the  above  sense. 

Mr.  Chance  was  directed  in  the  autumn  of  1878,  previous 
to  finishing  his  survey  of  Northern  Butler  county,  to  make 
a  special  study  of  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna  Kiver 
West  Branch  in  Clinton  and  Cameron  counties,  for  the 

*  Too  late  to  make  a  correction  in  the  plate  it  was  brought  to  my  notice  that 
paragraph  second  on  page  V.  141  states  too  positively  what  has  not  yet  been 
demonstrated  beyond  doubt,  viz.  that  the  McKean  county  limestone  is  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone  of  the  Allegheny  and  Beaver  river  country.  It  is 
probably  the  same,  but  the  proof  is  not  yet  complete. 


xvi  Y. 


PREFACE. 


purpose  of  discovering  if  possible  the  rate  at  which  the 
Catskill,  Pocono  and  Mauch  Chunk  formations  IX,  X,  and 
IX  thinned  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio  State 
Line  ;  and  to  determine  if  possible  whether  the  Red  rocks 
of  the  Oil  Region  were  representatives  of  the  red  Catskill 
rocks  ;  also,  whether  the  red  beds  of  the  Mauch  Chunk 
(Umbra!)  gave  indications  of  feathering  out  to  nothing  be¬ 
fore  reaching  the  Oil  Region.  On  the  decision  of  these 
questions  should  also  depend  in  some  degree  the  view  to  be 
taken  of  the  relation  of  the  red  Bedford  shales  of  Ohio 
with  the  Reds  of  the  oil  region. 

At  the  same  time  (1878)  Mr.  Ashburner  was  independ¬ 
ently  studying  the  same  problem  in  his  detailed  instru¬ 
mental  survey  of  McKean  and  Elk  counties. 

Mr.  Chance’s  results  are  only  sketched  out  by  him  in  the 
concluding  chapters  of  this  volume,  and  will  be  fully  stated 
and  perhaps  corrected  in  his  forthcoming  Report  YY  on 
Clinton  county. 

Mr.  Ashburner’ s  views  and  reasons  for  them  will  be  given 
in  detail,  with  illustrative  maps  and  sections,  in  his  Report 
R  on  McKean  and  Elk,  now  nearly  ready  for  the  press. 

The  contour  line  map  of  northern  Butler  county,  which 
accompanies  this  volume,  is  the  first  experiment  made  by 
the  Survey  in  this  direction.  Mr.  Chance,  however,  has 
had  unusual  advantages  for  constructing  such  a  map,  from 
the  great  number  of  oil- well-mouth  elevations  above  tide 
taken  during  the  course  of  the  Survey  of  the  Oil  Regions. 
(See  the  tables  of  elevations  given  on  pages  158  to  171  and  in 
Report  of  Progress  1. 1.)  Although  similar  contour  line 
maps  should  be  made  of  all  the  counties  of  Pennsylvania 
the  funds  appropriated  annually  by  the  Legislature  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  geological  survey  are  inadequate  to  meet 
the  expense  of  the  amount  of  leveling  necessary  for  pro¬ 
ducing  such  maps  in  a  reliable  form.  A  trigonometrical 
survey  of  the  State  should  also  precede  any  such  attempt. 

From  Mr.  Chance’ s  contour  map  a  model  of  the  northern 
half  of  Butler  can  be  made,  in  relief,  by  any  skillful  engi¬ 
neer,  or  student  of  topography,  and,  if  made  on  an  equal 
vertical  and  horizontal  scale,  and  cast  in  plaster,  its  surface 


PREFACE.  V.  xvii 

can  be  painted  to  represent  the  outcropping  formations, 
and  the  block  can  be  sawed  in  any  direction  so  as  to  show 
painted  sections  of  the  underground.  Such  a  saw  cut,  for 
example,  if  made  so  as  to  sever  the  block  lengthwise  of  the 
oil  belt,  through  some  of  the  principal  wells,  will  permit 
the  oil  sand  group  to  be  located  with  all  its  principal  varia¬ 
tions.  A  transverse  slitting  of  the  block  would  show  the 
width  of  the  oil  belt  and  the  feathering  of  the  oil  sands 
towards  the  east  and  west.  It  is  my  intention  to  add  such 
a  model  to  the  models  already  constructed  for  the  museum 
of  the  Survey  when  time  permits. 

J.  P.  Lesley. 

Philadelphia ,  June  13 ,  1879. 


b  V. 


SECOND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA: 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS,  Y. 

1878. 


By  H.  MARTYN  CHANCE. 

PART  I. 

NORTHERN  BUTLER  COUNTY. 


Chapter  I. 

§  1.  Topography,  Drainage  and  Surface  Geology. 

The  district  described  in  this  report  embraces  that  por¬ 
tion  of  Butler  County  lying  north  of  the  third  tier  of  town¬ 
ships,  or,  in  other  words,  the  northern  half  of  the  county  ; 
and  the  facts  now  published  are  all  essentially  new  addi¬ 
tions  to  the  geology  of  Western  Pennsylvania. 

The  townships  of  Butler  county  are  arranged  geographi¬ 
cally  in  regular  squares  and  in  the  following  order : — 


Mercer. 

Marion. 

Venango. 

Allegheny. 

Slippery-rock. 

Cherry. 

Washington. 

Parker. 

Worth. 

Brady. 

Clay. 

Concord. 

Fair-view. 

Muddy  Creek.  Franklin. 

Centre. 

Oakland. 

Donegal. 

Lancaster. 

Connoquenessing.  Butler. 

Summit. 

Clearfield. 

Jackson. 

Forward. 

Penn. 

Jefferson. 

Winfield. 

Cranberry. 

Adams. 

Middlesex. 

Clinton. 

Buffalo. 

REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANGE. 


2  V. 


The  southern  half  of  the  county  has  already  been  very 
thoroughly  described  by  Prof.  I.  C.  White  in  Report  “Q” 
on  the  Beaver  River  District,  so  that  nothing  remains  to  be 
said  concerning  it.  In  that  volume  the  townships  are  re¬ 
ported  upon  in  the  following  order : 


1.  Cranberry, 

2.  Adams, 

3.  Middlesex, 

4.  Clinton, 

5.  Buffalo, 


6. 

Winfield, 

11. 

7. 

Jefferson, 

12. 

8. 

Perry, 

13. 

9. 

Forward, 

14. 

10. 

Jackson, 

15. 

Lancaster,  • 

Connoquenessing, 

Butler, 

Summit, 

Clearfield ; 


beginning  at  the  first  or  southern  row,  and  following  the 
description  of  these  by  the  second  row,  which  in  turn  is 
succeeded  by  the  third  tier. 

In  the  present  report  the  order  from  south  to  north  is  re¬ 
tained  for  the  sake  of  uniformity  ;  but  each  row  of  town¬ 
ships  is  described  in  an  order  from  west  to  east. 

The  area  covered  by  this  report  embraces  somewhat  over 
four  hundred  square  miles,  and  may  all  be  classed  as  hilly 
country.  Most  of  the  valleys  are  rather  broad,  with  quite 
gentle  side  slopes,  and  but  seldom  are  of  the  canyon  like 
character  shown  by  some  of  the  gorges  of  Western  Penn¬ 
sylvania. 


The  Topographical  Map. 


The  annexed  contour  lined  map  has  been  prepared  princi¬ 
pally  from  an  intricate  series  of  barometric  elevations  of 
all  the  stream  crossings  and  summits  on  every  road  in  the 
district.  These  were  obtained  by  careful  duplicate  readings 
at  all  cross  roads,  summits  and  hollows,  and  by  frequent 
checks  on  spirit  leveled  lines,  railroad  stations,  and  oil  well 
elevations.  The  work  was  done  partly  on  horseback,  and 
partly  with  a  horse  and  buggy,  so  that  in  establishing  the 
elevations  of  important  points  but  little  time  was  consumed 
in  moving  from  one  place  to  another.  The  elevations  thus 
obtained  were  always  carefully  checked  with  previous  work, 
and  in  all  instances  where  the  agreement  was  not  good 
duplicate  check  lines  were  run.  To  better  illustrate  the 
method  employed  the  following  scheme  is  here  given : 


TOPOGRAPHY. 


Y.  3 


Known  points. 


Points  determined. 


Butler,  R.  R.  elevation  to  Sunburv. 

Do.  to  Prospect. 

Prospect,  (barometric)  to  Sunbury  [check]. 

Greece  City,  oil  well  elev.  to  Sunbury  [check]. 
Sunbury  being  now  determined  we  have  a  good  check  on 
Prospect. 

JL 

Prospect,  bar.  check  to  Centreville. 

Sunbury,  established  to  Centreville  [check]. 

Harrisville,  R.  R.  elev.  to  Centreville,  established. 
Centreville  being  established  gives  us  another  check  on 
Sunbury. 

Sunbury,  established  to  North  Washington. 

Parker,  R.  R.  elev.  to  North  Washington 

[check.] 

Fairview — oil  wells  to  North  Washington,  es¬ 

tablished. 


The  elevation  of  North  Washington  brought  by  this 
method  from  Butler,  checked  within  five  (5)  feet  of  the 
elevation  as  determined  from  Parker  and  Fairview.  A 
careful  use  of  this  system  in  favorable  weather  cannot  fail 
to  give  very  good  results,  but  during  changeable  weather 
bad  checks  will  frequently  be  obtained  and  much  of  the 
work  must  be  done  twice  over. 

Besides  the  altitudes  determined  by  the  above  method, 
I  have  used  many  obtained  from  the  list  of  oil  well  eleva¬ 
tions  republished  from  Mr.  Carll’s  Report  1. 1. 1.  in  Chapter 
XI  of  this  volume,  and  some  determined  by  my  surveyed 
line  along  Slippery  Rock  Creek,  together  with  the  levels 
of  the  Shenango  and  Allegheny,  and  Parker  and  Karns  City 
Railroads. 

The  tide  water  elevation  of  the  following  towns  is  con 
sidered  to  be  established : 


1. 

Portersville, 

.  1360 

8. 

Petrolia,  .  .  . 

1175 

2. 

Prospect,  .  . 

.  1330 

9. 

Centreville,  .  . 

1300 

3. 

Unionville,  .  . 

.  1330 

10. 

Annandale,  .  . 

1490 

4. 

Millerstown, 

.  1210 

11. 

North  Washington, 

1500 

5. 

W est  Liberty,  . 

.  1190 

12. 

Harrisville,  .  . 

1315 

4  Y.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

6.  Sunbury,  .  .  .  1400  IB.  Murrinsville,  .  .  1440 

7.  Middletown,  .  .  1420  14.  Farmington,  .  .  1520 

The  ground  plan  of  the  map  has  been  reduced  from  the 
township  atlas  maps,  and  is  very  nearly  correct. ' 

All  the  principal  drainage  features,  and  the  relation  of 
the  geology  to  the  topography,  are  clearly  shown  by  the 
contour  lines.  The  Ferriferous  Limestone  has  been  marked 
upon  the  map  by  a  colored  blue  line.  In  carrying  this 
outcrop  line  across  the  map,  I  fear  that  I  may  have  shown 
it  over  some  areas  where  the  limestone  is  absent.  It  will 
be  understood  therefore  that  where  this  stratum  is  not  ex¬ 
posed ,  the  line  is  intended  to  show  its  horizon,  or  place  at 
which  it  should  outcrop. 

§  3.  The  Parker  Contoured  Map. 

The  area  shown  by  this  map  was  surveyed  very  minutely 
in  August  and  September,  1876,  with  the  intention  of  map¬ 
ping  the  whole  Butler  Oil  Belt,  but  it  was  found  to  be  work 
of  such  difficult  character,  so  slow,  and  consequently  so 
expensive  both  of  time  and  money,  that  it  was  thought  best 
to  carry  it  no  further  than  over  an  area  of  about  seven 
square  miles  back  of  Parker,  and  to  publish  it  as  illustra¬ 
tive  of  the  belt  of  country  bordering  on  the  Valley  of  the 
Allegheny  Fiver. 

On  account  of  the  many  pipe  lines  crossing  this  area 
and  running  along  the  roads,  accurate  work  cannot  be  done 
with  a  compass,  and  all  of  our  work  was  necessarily  done 
by  transit. 

The  map  shows  the  outcrop  lines  of  the  Clarion  Coal  Bed 
and  Ferriferous  Limestone. 

Lawrenceburg  is  principally  built  on  the  flat  eroded  in  the 
soft  Mercer  Measures,  though  the  higher  parts  of  the  town 
are  on  top  the  Homewood  Sandstone.  The  (upper)  “  Moun¬ 
tain  sand,” — middle  of  No.  XII, — which  is  probably  the 
Upper  and  Lower  Connoquenessing  Sandstones  united, 
forms  the  clifls  overhanging  Parker  City. 

It  seems  quite  probable  that  the  high  flat,  which  extends 
for  a  long  distance  back  from  the  top  of  the  clifls,  marks  one 


TOPOGRAPHY . 


y.  5 

of  the  ancient  flood  planes,  or  the  old  stream  bed,  of  the 
Allegheny  River,  prior  to  the  time  of  its  cutting  down  into 
the  cliff  sandstone.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  topo¬ 
graphy  of  the  opposite  river  bank,  which  exhibits  a  similar 
broad  high  flat,  and  indicates  that  at  that  time  the  Clarion 
River  emptied  into  the  Allegheny  much  farther  south  than 
its  present  mouth.  These  conclusions  afford  an  easy  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  big  bend  in  the  Clarion,  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  Allegheny. 

§  J.  Dividing  Ridges. 

The  great  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of  the  Alle¬ 
gheny  River  on  the  east  and  the  Beaver  River  tributaries 
on  the  west,  sweeps  through  the  eastern  part  of  the  county 
in  a  general  direction  nearly  due  north.  It  enters  the 
county  in  Middlesex  township,  runs  northeast  through 
Clinton  and  Jefferson  townships  to  Bilk’s  Station  on  the 
Butler  Branch  W.  P.  R.  R.,  thence  northward  in  an  almost 
straight  line  to  Middletown  in  Concord  township.  From 
Middletown  it  extends  northward  to  North  Washington 
and  Annisville,  and  rounding  in  a  semi- circle  the  headwaters 
of  the  Slippery  Rock,  passes  close  to  Farmington;  thence 
northwestward  to  the  county  line,  along  which  it  runs  in  a 
westerly  direction,  and  sweeping  again  to  the  north  runs 
off  along  the  line  between  Mercer  and  Venango  Counties. 

Near  Middletown  it  is  joined  by  two  prominent  ridges 
coming  in  from  the  west.  The  first  or  most  southern  ridge 
is  the  divide  between  Muddy  Creek  and  the  Connoqueness- 
ing  waters,  which  passes  close  to  Portersville  and  Prospect, 
and  runs  nearly  northeast  through  Centre,  and  Concord 
townships  to  its  junction  with  the  great  divide  at  Middle- 
town. 

The  second  ridge  is  the  Muddy  Creek  and  Slippery  Rock 
Creek  divide,  wTiich  runs  nearly  due  east  from  the  Law¬ 
rence  County  line  to  Middletown,  passing  through  Worth, 
Brady,  and  Clay  townships. 

Middletown  may  therefore  be  said  to  be  the  centre  of  the 
drainage  system  of  Northern  Butler.  The  head  waters  of 


6  Y.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

of  the  Slippery  Rock,  of  Muddy  Creek,  Bear  Creek,  Buf¬ 
falo  Creek,  and  of  Kearn’s  Branch  of  the  Connoqueness- 
ing,  are  all  found  in  its  vicinity. 

The  heights  of  these  dividing  ridges  above  ocean  level 
reaches  1,500  feet,  or  600  feet  above  the  Allegheny  river  at 
Parker.  For  example:  at  North  Washington,  1,500';  at 
Farmington,  1,500'  to  1,530';  at  Middletown,  1,400';  at  Sun- 
bury,  1,400';  at  Annandale,  1,490'. 

§  5.  Glacial  Drift  and  Preglacial  Drainage. 

South  and  east  of  the  Muddy  Creek  and  Connoqueness- 
ing  Divide,  the  valleys  are  nearly  all  sharp  and  rather  nar¬ 
row  cuts,  with  numerous  small  side  ravines,  and  no  well 
marked  bottom  lands,  showing  that  an  active  aggressive 
erosion  has  been  operative  for  a  long  period.  The  val¬ 
leys  lying  north  and  west  from  this  ridge  are  of  quite  dif¬ 
ferent  character,  being  generally  much  broader  and  more 
even  in  contour,  with  fewer  side  ravines.  Drift  banks  are 
found  at  various  elevations  on  the  hill  sides,  and  along  the 
creek  Hats,  and  even  on  high  land  erratic  blocks  are  of  quite 
frequent  occurrence.  The  latter  are  usually  found  in  col¬ 
onies,  or  strewed  over  the  ground  in  narrow  strips  on  either 
side  of  which  but  few  can  be  seen. 

At  Annandale  the  Slippery  Bock  Valley  contains  flat 
bottom  lands  from  two  to  five  hundred  feet  wide.  These 
become  more  and  more  noticeable  as  we  go  westward  down 
the  stream.  A  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of  Wolf 
Creek  the  valley  is  very  broad  and  flat;  and  at  the  Bed 
Bridge  in  Lawrence  County  this  is  a  still  more  prominent 
feature.  At  the  latter  place  water  wells  forty  feet  deep 
fail  to  find  any  bottom,  passing  through  a  succession  of 
“muck,”  clay  and  gravel  to  a  good  clean  gravel  bed  from 
which  excellent  water  is  obtained.  Between  Annandale  and 
the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek  the  stream  often  cuts  down  to 
bed  rock,  in  some  places  running  on  top  of  the  Homewood 
or  Connoquenessing  Sandstone  for  quite  a  distance.  The 
creek  is  here  probably  flowing  in  a  new  channel,  its  old  one 
lying  farther  south  and  being  completely  filled  with  drift. 


GLACIAL  DRIFT. 


y.  7 


From  Rose  Point  in  Lawrence  County,  southward  to  its 
junction  with  the  Connoquenessing  Creek  it  flows  in  a  newly 
cut  valley  flanked  on  both  sides  by  perpendicular  walls  of 
the  Homewood  and  Connoquenessing  Sandstones. 

At  some  time  prior  to  the  Glacial  period  it  probably  had 
an  outlet  to  the  west  through  the  valley  of  Big  Run  into 
the  Beaver  River  below  New  Castle. 

The  valley  of  Muddy  Creek  presents  similar  bottom  lands 
from  Clay  township  westward  to  the  Lawrence  County  line, 
and  probably  had  an  outlet  through  the  same  valley  with 
Slippery  Rock  Creek.  It  must  have  flowed  north  from  its 
present  junction  with  the  latter  stream  to  its  confluence 
with  the  ancient  waters  of  the  Slippery  Rock,  near  Ken¬ 
nedy’s  Mills.  Muddy  Creek  Falls  is  evidently  a  recent 
cut,  produced  by  the  rapid  erosion  of  Slippery  Rock  Creek 
in  its  newly  formed  channel. 

Erratic  blocks  on  high  land  are  found  as  far  east  as  West 
Liberty,  in  Brady  township,  and  Centreville,  in  Slippery 
Rock  township,  and  along  the  creek  bottoms  much  farther 
eastward.  As  Prof.  Lesley,  in  his  preface  to  Report  Q, 
has  discussed  at  considerable  length  their  origin  and  the 
probable  conditions  of  their  distribution  over  the  western 
counties,  and  as  Mr.  Carll  in  Report  I.  I.I,  will  give  a  very 
elaborate  description  of  the  Preglacial  Water  Basins,  and 
the  drift  with  which  they  are  now  filled ;  it  is  needless  to 
add  any  thing  more  regarding  them. 

•  It  would  be  well,  however,  to  state  that  the  data  collected 
in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  verify  Prof.  White's  as¬ 
sertion  that  erratics  are  not  found  in  the  western  counties 
at  a  much  greater  elevation  than  1300'  above  ocean  level. 

§  6.  /Soil . 

There  is  but  little  first  class  farming  land  in  the  county, 
but  much  of  the  soil  that  is  unfit  for  raising  heavy  crops  is 
well  adapted  to  grazing.  Of  late  years  this  fact  has  been 
properly  appreciated  by  the  residents,  and  many  are  now 
turning  their  attention  to  sheep  raising,  which  is  found  to 
pay  very  well. 

Much  of  the  land  might  be  greatly  improved  by  a  liberal 


8  Y.  REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

use  of  lime,  but  either  from  ignorance  of  the  fact,  or  from 
the  expense  attending  its  use,  or  from  indifference,  compara¬ 
tively  few  use  it  at  all,  and  those  that  do,  apply  it  very 
sparingly. 

The  soil  may  be  divided  into  four  classes : 

1st  The  soil  of  the  Bottom  Lands. 

This  is  found  only  on  Muddy  Creek  and  its  branches,  and 
along  Slippery  Bock  Creek  and  its  main  tributaries.  It 
is  very  variable  in  character,  sometimes  being  a  loose  sandy 
loam,  forming  excellent  meadow  land,  and  adapted  to  rais¬ 
ing  corn,  hay,  and  all  kinds  of  garden  vegetables,  but  is 
occasionally  a  hard  stiff  clayey  earth  very  difficult  to  culti¬ 
vate  and  is  also  sometimes  too  swampy  for  farming  pur¬ 
poses. 

2d.  The  high  lands  of  the  Barren  Measures  in  Muddy 
Creek,  Franklin,  Centre,  Oakland  and  Donegal  townships. 

This  soil  is  formed  from  the  disintegration  of  clayey  and 
sandy  shale  and  sandstone,  and  varies  from  a  rather  thin 
loose  soil,  to  a  very  hard  tough  clay.  Much  of  it  makes 
quite  good  farming  land,  and  is  well  adapted  to  grazing, 
but  sadly  needs  a  liberal  application  of  lime  or  some  other 
inorganic  fertilizer. 

3d.  The  high  land  in  southern  Brady,  Clay,  Concord, 
and  Fairview  townships  formed  by  the  outcrops  of  the 
Mahoning  and  Freeport  Sandstones.  This  land  is  very  poor 
and  but  little  of  it  is  cultivated. 

4th.  The  soil  formed  from  the  disintegration  of  the  shales 
and  sandstones  of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures. 
This  covers  fully  four  fifths  of  the  district,  and  varies  as 
much  in  quality  as  the  coal  measure  rocks  vary  in  their 
lithological  character. 

When  the  sandstones  of  the  measures  are  rather  friable 
with  a  calcareous  cementing  material,  and  the  shales  more 
sandy  than  argillaceous,  very  fair  farming  land  is  sure  to 
result  from  their  disintegration,  but  where  there  is  an  ex¬ 
cess  of  clayey  shales  with  no  sandstone,  or  accompained  by 
very  hard  sandstones,  a  tough  unyielding  soil  will  always 
be  found,  utterly  unfit  for  profitable  farming. 

A  fifth  variety  might  be  made  by  considering  the  soil  af- 


SOIL. 


y.  9 


fected  by  the  outcrop  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  as* a 
separate  kind.  Along  the  Slippery  Rock  Creek  in  Slippery 
Rock,  Worth,  Brady,  Cherry,  Mercer,  and  Marion  town¬ 
ships,  much  of  the  land  is  very  greatly  improved  by  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  this  rock,  but  it  is  so  thin — rarely  exceeding  fifteen 
(15)  feet — that  we  are  hardly  justified  in  asserting  that  there 
is  any  characteristic  limestone  soil  in  the  county. 

Apples  and  peaches  are  the  only  fruits  commonly  grown. 
The  latter  are  small,  hard  and  acrid,  and  are  suited  neither 
to  the  soil  nor  climate.  The  trees  are  usually  planted  around 
the  margin  of  an  apple  orchard  or  a  field  bordering  the  road. 
This  is  done  to  insure  to  them  the  best  drained  soil.  Some 
excellent  apples  are  grown,  but  as  the  greater  part  of  the 
county  is  not  well  supplied  with  railroads,  but  few  are 
shipped  to  market. 


Chapter  II. 

§  7.  Anticlinals  and  Synclinals. 

All  that  portion  of  Western  Pennsylvania  lying  north 
and  west  of  the  Brady’ s  Bend  or  Fifth  Anticlinal  Axis  was 
included  in  what  is  called  the  Sixth  Bituminous  Coal  Basin. 

This  basin  contains  within  its  limits  several  minor  flexures 
which  divide  it  into  as  many  sub-basins,  but  these  anticli¬ 
nals  and  synclinals  have  such  gentle  dips,  and  are  so  diffi¬ 
cult  to  trace,  that  any  attempt  to  classify  them  as  separate 
sub-basins,  and  to  trace  them  across  the  State  as  such,  must 
prove  futile,  and  be  productive  of  much  confusion  with  but 
little  resulting  benefit. 

The  Brady’ s  Bend  Anticlinal  axis,  crossing  the  Allegheny 
River  in  the  loop  below  Brady’s  Bend,  is  said  by  Prof. 
White,  to  run  in  a  straight  line  south  40°  west  across  the 
southeastern  corner  of  Butler  County,  just  touching  the 
♦  northwest  corner  of  Buffalo  Township. 

The  Brady’s  Bend  or  “Sixth”  Synclinal  Axis  lies  but  a 
short  distance  northwest  from  the  anticlinal,  crossing  the 


io  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Allegheny  River  at  Brady’s  Bend  (East  Brady)  and  enter¬ 
ing  Butler  County  at  the  southeastern  corner  of  Donegal 
township,  which  is  the  most  southeasterly  point  described 
in  this  report.  Its  course  is  approximately  parallel  to  that 
of  the  Anticlinal  axis. 

§  8.  The  Miller stown  Axis. 

A  short  distance  southeast  of  Millerstown  a  gentle  anti¬ 
clinal  roll  is  detected  crossing  the  county  in  a  direction  ap¬ 
proximately  parallel  to  the  Brady’s  Bend  Axis.  Its  exist¬ 
ence  was  first  suspected  about  two  years  ago,  1876,  when  it 
was  found  that  some  of  the  oil  wells  drilled  southeast  of 
Millerstown  reached  the  oil  sand  at  a  less  depth  than  those 
nearer  town. 

A  careful  leveling  of  the  well  mouths,  and  a  comparison  of 
the  relative  depths  at  Millerstown,  and  on  the  Diviner  Farm 
and  others  in  the  same  vicinity,  showed  that  the  oil  sand 
certainly  dipped  to  the  north  over  a  strip  of  country  a  half 
mile  or  more  in  width.  The  data  collected  in  obtaining  the 
facts  for  the  detailed  township  reports,  show  that  the  coal 
rocks  also  exhibit  a  north  dip  in  that  vicinity,  and  undoubt¬ 
edly  demonstrate  the  existence  of  an  anticlinal  and  syncli¬ 
nal  roll.  No  trace  of  it  was  observed  northeast  or  south¬ 
west  of  Donegal  township. 

9  \ 

§  9.  The  Martinsburg  Axis. 

A  second  flexure  enters  the  county  near  Bear  Creek,  passes 
a  short  distance  east  of  Martinsburg,  where  it  can  be  de¬ 
tected  by  the  eye,  and  probably  passes,  in  its  southwest 
course,  very  close  to  the  town  of  Butler.  It  has  governed 
the  course  of  the  main  branch  of  Bear  Creek,  and  of  Kearn’s 
Branch  of  the  Connoquenessing  and  has  probably  had  some 
agency  in  the  production  of  the  big  bend  of  the  Clarion 
River  a  short  distance  above  its  mouth.  A  description  of 
the  dips  at  Martinsburg  will  be  found  in  Chapter  VIII. 

§  10.  The  Harrismlle  Axis. 

From  the  Martinsburg.  axis  northwest  to  Centreville,  no 


ANTICLINALS  AND  SYNCLINALS. 


Y.  11 


perceptible  flexure  crosses  the  measures,  the  dip  being 
nearly  uniform  and  toward  the  south,  but  at  the  latter  place 
a  quite  prominent  anticlinal  and  synclinal  roll  is  found. 
This  anticlinal  passing  through  the  borough  of  Centreville 
is  again  seen  in  the  coal  mines  at  Harrisville  Station.  The 
north  dips  of  this  axis  are  frequently  detected  in  the  coals, 
and  in  the  dip  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  through  all  the 
country  southwest  of  Centreville.  It  crosses  the  Beaver 
River  about  midway  between  the  mouth  of  Connoqueness- 
ing  Creek  and  Homewood  Station. 

The  Harrisville  Synclinal  lies  but  a  short  distance,  some- 
times  not  over  one  half  mile,  from  the  anticlinal. 

It  determines  the  course  of  Wolf  Creek  and  its  junction 
with  the  Slippery  Rock,  and  of  the  Slippery  Rock  and  its 
junction  with  the  Connoquenessing. 

Traced  northeastwardly,  in  the  prolongation  of  this  line, 
it  passes  a  short  distance  west  of  Clintonville,  crosses  the 
Allegheny  river  at  Serubgrass,  producing  Scrubgrass  Bend, 
and  is  again  detected  near  Tippery  Corners,  six  miles  west 
by  south  from  Oil  City,  where  it  brings  the  Ferriferous 
Limestone  down  into  the  hill  tops. 

The  bend  in  the  river  at  Scrubgrass  has  long  been  an  un¬ 
explained  feature  in  the  erosion  of  the  Allegheny  Valley. 
The  formation  of  Brady’ s  Bend  was  elucidated  years  ago 
by  Prof.  Lesley,  who  has  explained  to  us  how  the  stream 
running  down  the  dip  to  nearly  the  central  line  of  the  syn¬ 
clinal,  was  thrown  back  by  the  north  dip,  flowed  for  a  time 
westwardly,  but  finally  cutting  across  the  basin  was  again 
deflected,  this  time  toward  the  east,  and  began  cutting  back 
into  the  axis  from  the  south;  was  once  more  repulsed,  turned, 
and  resumed  its  southerly  course.  A  precisely  similar  action 
has  taken  place  at  Scrubgrass,  resulting  in  the  production 
of  Scrubgrass  Bend. 

At  Hotter’ s  Siding,  between  Scrubgrass  and  Emlenton, 
there  is  a  similar  loop.  This  may  have  an  origin  similar  to 
that  of  the  other  bends  ;  but  no  flexure  was  detected  in 
northern  Butler  that  would  account  for  it.  If  such  an  axis 
does  exist  it  must  be  very  gentle  in  the  northern  part  of 
Butler  county.  It  would  correspond  very  nearly  to  a  pro- 


12  V\ 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


longation  of  Prof.  Stevenson  s  Bulger  Axis  of  Beaver 
County. 

§  11.  The  Frederick stoion  axis. 

Prof.  White,  in  Report  Q,  has  supposed  the  anticlinal 
axis  seen  on  the  Beaver  above  Homewood  Station  (Harris- 
ville  axis,)  to  be  the  same  with  his  Frederickstown  axis. 
This  construction  would  make  the  course  of  the  flexure 
about  1ST.  60°  E.,  which  is  at  variance  with  our  knowledge  of 
the  structure  of  Beaver,  Lawrence  and  Butler  counties  on 
the  east,  and  in  Ohio  on  the  west. 

The  Bradys  Bend  axis  runs  N.  40°  E.  ;  the  Harrisville 
axis  from  Scrubgrass  to  the  Beaver  River  about  N.  42°  E. 
and  the  Bulger  axis  in  Beaver  county  about  N.  30°  E. 

In  Ohio,  the  flexures  are  more  gentle,  and  consequently 
harder  to  trace,  but  have  been  proved  to  lie  in  a  line  more 
nearly  parallel  to  the  Cincinnati  Anticlinal  than  the  axes 
in  Pennsylvania,  i.  e .,  more  nearly  in  a  north  and  south 
direction. 

It  will  then  be  seen,  that  if  the  Frederickstown  axis  be 
the  same  with  the  Harrisville  axis,  we  have  a  flexure  run¬ 
ning  across  the  general  course  of  the  axes  and  destroying 
the  harmony  of  the  system. 

At  New  Castle,  on  the  Beaver  River,  (see  Part  II  below) 
there  is  a  marked  flattening  of  the  dip  ;  so  that  the  strata, 
as  determined  by  spirit-level  elevations  of  the  Mercer  lime¬ 
stone,  appear  to  be  horizontal  for  a  distance  of  four  miles. 
This  can  readily  be  explained  by  supposing  that  a  rather 
flattened  anticlinal  roll  crosses  the  river  at  that  point. 

If  we  now  assume  this  flexure  to  be  the  same  with  the 
Frederickstown  axis,  we  find  its  course  is  about  N.  30°  E. 
This  is  perfectly  in  harmony  with  the  structure  of  the  whole 
district,  and  is  also  in  conformity  with  the  course  of  the 
Ohio  axes. 

It  is  then  safe  to  conclude  that  the  Frederickstown  axis  is 
the  same  with  the  New  Castle  roll,  and  runs  in  a  course  of 
about  N.  30°  E. 

The  southerly  prolongation  of  the  Harrisville  axis  should 
therefor  be  looked  for  in  the  vicinity  of  Smith’s  Ferry,  or 
at  any  point  along  a  course  S.  40°  W.  from  Homewood 
Station. 


BARREN  MEASURES. 


Y.  13 


Chapter  III. 

§  18.  The  Barren  Measures. 

Only  the  lower  portion  of  the  Barren  Measures  is  found 
in  this  district.  In  parts  of  Muddy  Creek,  Franklin,  Cen¬ 
tre,  Oakland,  and  Donegal  townships,  over  one  hundred 
feet  of  strata  belonging  to  this  series  is  caught  in  the  hill¬ 
tops,  but  no  good  section  of  them  could  be  obtained  within 
the  limits  of  the  district. 

The  following  section  is  taken  from  Report  Q,  page  24, 
and  is  given  as  a  typical  section  of  the  Barren  Measures  in 
Southern  Butler  and  Allegheny  counties.  In  it,  the  Mahon¬ 
ing  S.  S.  is  made  the  lowest  member  of  the  Series,  but  here¬ 
tofore  that  rock  has  always  been  regarded  as  the  top  rock 
of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures. 

The  Mahoning  Sandstone  will  be  described  in  connection 
with  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures. 

The  highest  rocks  of  the  Barren  Measures  are  found  in 
the  high  lands  of  Centre  township,  where  the  lowermost 
two  hundred  feet  of  these  strata  is  caught  in  the  hill- tops. 
This  is  a  very  exceptional  thickness,  as  usually  there  is 
not  much  more  than  one  hundred  feet  of  these  measures 
found  so  far  north  as  this  tier  of  townships. 

Neither  the  Bakerstown  Coal  bed,  nor  the  Pine  Creek 
Limestone  were  detected ;  but  they  might  easily  be  present 
and  yet  escape  observation,  as  they  must  lie  only  in  the 
highest  liill-tops,  and  have  probably  suffered  greatly  from 
aerial  erosion. 

The  Buffalo,  or  Mahoning  Upper  Sandstone  is  not  a  mas¬ 
sive  rock  in  these  townships.  It  is  usually  replaced  by 
soft  clayey  shales,  and  argillaceous  sandstones. 

The  Brush  Creek  coal  is  nowhere  of  any  importance.  Its 
outcrop  is  seen  along  the  road-summits  in  many  portions 
of  the  southern  part  of  the  district,  but  is  always  too  thin 
and  impure  to  be  of  any  value.  The  Brush  Creek  Lime¬ 
stone  is  probably  absent. 


14  V. 


REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE 


General  Section  of  the  Barren  Measures 
Allegheny  County . 


Pittsburgh  Coal  Bed,  .  .  . 

# 

Concealed, . 

Pittsburgh  Upper  Limestone, 
Variegated  Shales,  .... 
Pittsburgh  Little  Coal,  wanting 
Pittsbnrgh  Lower  Limestone, 
Red  Upper  shale,  .... 

Concealed, . 

Morgantown  SS  , . 

Small  coal, . 

Variegated  shale,  .... 

Elk  Lick  Coal, . 

Elk  Lick  Limestone,  .  .  . 

Variegated  Shales,  .... 
Berlin  Coal,  wanting. 

Green  Crinoidal  Limestone,  . 

Platt  (?)  Coal, . 

Red  Lower  Clay  Shale,  .  . 

Sandy  Shales  and  Shaly  SS., 
Bakerstown  Coal,  .... 
Shales  and  Sandstones,  .  . 

Pine  Creek  Limestone,  .  .  . 

Buffalo  (Mahoning  Upper)  SS., 
Brush  Creek  Limestone,  .  . 

Dark  Shale, . 

Brush  Creek  Coal,  .... 

Shale, . 

Mahoning  Sandstone,  .  .  . 


20' 

2' 

65' 

5' 

20' 

70' 

45' 

50' 
O' to  3' 
O'  to  5' 
35 ' 

2'  to  3' 
0'  to  IV 
30' 
50' 
O' to  4' 
40' 
2' 
60' 
1'  to  2' 
10'  to  15' 
0'to  3 ' 
20' 

40'  to  80' 


The  Mahoning  Sandstone,  underlying  the  above  described 


LOWER  PRODUCTIVE  COAL  MEASURES. 


Y.  15 


series,  is  often  almost  entirely  replaced  by  soft  Barren 
Measure  shale ;  but  is  sometimes  quite  a  massive  stratum, 
forming  prominent  topographical  features.  It  caps  the 
dividing  ridge  north  of  Muddy  Creek  in  Brady  and  Clay 
townships,  and  is  occasionally  a  massive  stratum  in  Oak¬ 
land  and  Donegal  townships. 


Chapter  IV. 

§  13.  The  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures. 

No  complete  section  of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  meas¬ 
ures  can  be  obtained  within  the  limits  of  the  county.  Even 
when  the  exposures  are  good,  and  are  close  enough  to  each 
other  to  be  joined  together  with  no  risk  of  erroneous 
identifications,  the  resulting  sections  are  always  more  or 
less  incomplete,  for  all  the  coal  beds,  and  their  accompany¬ 
ing  limestones,  are  never  present  together  in  any  one  lo¬ 
cality. 

The  following  generalized  section  has  been  prepared  from 
a  thorough  revision  and  verification  of  Prof.  Lesley’ s  Sec¬ 
tion  at  Brady’s  Bend.  It  embraces  all  the  coals  of  the  se¬ 
ries,  except  the  Millerstown  and  Ferriferous  Coal  Beds. 

The  maximum  and  minimum  thickness  of  each  stratum 
is  given  in  the  left  hand  column  of  figures  ;  and  the  meas¬ 
urements  at  Brady’s  Bend  in  the  right  hand  column.  The 
section  is  thus  made  a  typical  one  for  the  district,  and  can 
be  used  as  a  key  to  any  section  measured  in  northern  But¬ 
ler,  northern  Armstrong,  Beaver  or  Lawrence  counties. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  though  the  intervals  are  repre¬ 
sented  as  being  subject  to  great  variations  in  thickness, 
the  general  parallelism  of  the  measures  is  preserved,  as 
as  a  thickening  or  thinning  in  one  stratum  is  always  com¬ 
pensated  by  a  corresponding  increase  or  diminution  of  the 
interval  above  or  below  it.  Thus,  the  Freeport  Sandstone 
ranges  from  36  to  60  feet  in  thickness,  but  this  variation  is 
always  compensated  by  an  opposite  variation  in  the  over- 
lying  or  underlying  strata ;  so  that  the  distance  from  the 
Freeport  Limestone  down  to  the  Kittanning  Upper  Coal 


16  Y. 


REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


bed,  or  to  the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  remains  nearly  con¬ 
stant. 

The  section  here  given  does  not  include  all  of  the  Brady’s 
Bend  Section.  It  is  only  carried  down  to  the  bottom  of 
the  Brookville  Coal  Bed,  which  at  Brady’s  Bend  lies  about 
165  feet  above  low  water  in  the  Allegheny  Liver.  The 
strata  beneath  this  bed  belong  to  the  Beaver  Liver  or  Con¬ 
glomerate  Series  (No.  Nil). 


Generalized  Section  of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  Meas¬ 
ures. 


30'  to  70' 


O'  to  70' 

1'  to  6' 
5'  to  20' 
0'  to  5' 
5'  to  15' 
0'  to  4' 
25'  to  35' 


1'  to  8' 
0'  to  5' 
0'  to  2' 
40'  to  60' 
0'  to  10' 
0'  to  4' 
1'  to  3' 
30'  to  45' 
1'  to  4' 
3'  to  8' 
35'  to  40' 
l'to  4' 
1'  to  5' 
?  to  20' 
0'  to  3' 
12'  to  18' 


50' 


25' 

5' 

8' 

5' 

13' 

3' 


Mahoning  SS.,  some¬ 
times  containing  Mil- 
lerstown  Coal,  .  .  . 

Slate  and  shale,  sometimes  ) 
replacing  Mahoning  SS.,  j 
Freeport  Upper  Coal, 

Fireclay  and  shale  ore  balls 
Freeport  Upper  Limestone, 
Fireclay  with  ore — Shale,  . 
Freeport  (Summit)  Ore, 

Freeport  Upper  Sandstone,  ) 
sometimes  shale,  .  .  f 

Freeport  Lower  Coal,  1£'  to  4' 
Shale  or  Fireclay,  .  .  3' 

Freeport  Lower  Lime,  2' 
Freeport  Lower  SS.,  60' 

Shale  or  Slate, . — 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal,  10"  to  3' 

Fireclay,  . _ 

Sandstone  and  shale,  .  .  46' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  2'  to  4' 
Fireclay,  ....  5'  ] 

Shale,  olive  and  blue,  35'  ) 
Kittanning  Lower  Coal,  .  . 

Fireclay,  ....  3'  ] 

Sandstone,  sandy  shale,  23'  j 

“Slab”  ore, . 

Sandstone  and  sandy  ] 
shales,  ferruginous,  .  j 


65' 


40' 

3' 

26' 

14' 


LOWER  PRODUCTIVE  COAL  MEASURES. 


Y.  17 


O'  to  5'  Limestone  (Bulirstone)  ore,  1' 

O'  to  22'  Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  .  15' 

Scrubgrass  Coal,  ? 

18'  to  30'  Sandy  shales,  .  .  .  25'  j 

2'  to  7'  Clarion  Coal  Bed,  .  3'  i  30' 

1'  to  3'  Fireclay,  ....  2'  ) 

20'  to  40'  Soft  shale  or  sandstone,  .  25' 

0'  to  6'  Brookville  Coal  Bed,  ( ? )  .  3' 

0'  to  10'  Fireclay  or  shale,  about  .  5' 

Homewood  Sandstone. 

Total, .  423' 

The  figures  bound  by  a  vincula  are  those  used  iu  con¬ 
structing  the  accompanying  section,  Fig.  2. 

Several  instrumental  measurements  at  Brady’s  Bend  gave 
a  mean  of  264  feet  as  the  distance  from  the  Freeport  Upper 
Coal  down  to  the  Ferriferous  Limestone.  This  tallies  well 
with  the  results  obtained  by  Mr.  White,  who  gives,  (see  Q, 
page  39,)  the  distance  from  the  Upper  Freeport  Coal  to  the 


Ferriferous  Limestone,  as — 

At  Kittanning,  . . .  .  261' 

At  New  Brighton, .  263' 

At  Smith’ s  Ferry, .  242' 


Throughout  the  district  I  have  always  found  this  inter¬ 
val  greater  than  250  and  less  than  265  feet. 

The  thickness  of  the  Lower  Productive  Series  (counting 
in  the  Mahoning  Sandstone)  in  northern  Butler  and  Arm¬ 
strong  counties  and  the  eastern  part  of  Lawrence  county, 
is  always  from  400  to  425  feet. 


§  H.  Ancient  Erosion  of  the  Freeport  Group. 

This  thickness  is  sometimes  diminished  by  an  apparent  re¬ 
placement  of  the  Mahoning  Sandstone,  and  Upper  Freeport 
Coal  and  Limestone,  by  the  shales  of  the  Barren  Measures. 
In  many  localities  in  the  southern  part  of  the  district,  the 
Freeport  Group  cannot  be  recognized.  No  coal  or  limestone 
is  found  at  the  proper  horizon,  and  the  overlying  Mahon- 

2  y. 


18  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


in g  Sandstone  is  entirely  cut  away  by  shales,  lithologically 
the  counterpart  of  the  Barren  Measure  Shales.  It  may  be 
urged  that  the  Freeport  group  was  never  deposited  over  this 
area,  and  that  this  is  a  bona  fide  disappearance  of  the  group; 
„  but  against  this  view  there  are  many  objections.  North¬ 
east,  north,  and  west  of  the  areas  in  which  the  above  de¬ 
scribed  phenomenon  is  observed,  both  the  Freeport  Group 
and  Mahoning  Sandstone  are  found  with  almost  their  nor¬ 
mal  development  and  at  a  nearly  constant  distance  above 
the  Ferriferous  Limestone  and  Kittanning  Coal  Beds.  It 
is  therefore  improbable  that  we  have  here  reached  the  north¬ 
ern  margin  of  the  old  Freeport  Basin,  as  all  the  facts  seem 
to  indicate  that  their  absence  is  occasioned  by  an  ancient 
erosion.* 


§  15.  Extent  of  the  Freeport  Coal  and  Limestone. 

The  rapid  deterioration  of  this  group,  north,  west,  and 

*  Erosion  of  a  group  of  Coal  Measures  previous  to  the  deposit  of  the  next 
group  in  the  order  above  it,  must  be  a  fact  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
Theory  of  Coal,  and  should  be  settled  beyond  doubt.  I  have  invited  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  evidence  obtained  by  Professor  Stevenson  (in  Greene  and  Wash¬ 
ington  counties,  as  published  in  his  Report  of  Progress  K,  1876,)  in  the  Pre¬ 
face  to  Professor  White’s  Report  of  Progress,  Q,  pp.  xlii  to  xlv.  In  that  case 
the  erosion  took  place  not  long  before  the  deposit  of  the  Pittsburgh  Coal.  In 
this  case,  if  Mr.  Chance  is  correct  in  his  inferences,  a  still  older  erosion  had 
taken  place,  even  before  the  deposit  of  the  Black  Fossil  Limestone  of  the 
Barren  Measures.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  erosions  of  such  a  depth  as  to 
cut  out  a  whole  group,  or  such  as  to  make  a  valley  one  or  two  hundred  feet 
deep,  were  effected  under  water,  by  any  conceivable  ocean  currents.  They 
must  be  looked  upon  as  subserial.  The  Coal  area  must  therefore  have  been 
at  intervals  high  out  of  water,  and  then  submerged.  If  we  possess  two  well 
authenticated  cases,  there  may  be  any  number  of  others  not  yet  discovered. 

If  large  stretches  of  land  appeared  above  water  at  one  time,  there  could 
have  been  at  first  no  vegetation  upon  them ;  and  if  the  climate  was  hot  and 
even  approximately  dry,  there  must  have  occurred  extensive  and  deep  aerial 
deposits  of  blown  sand  and  clay  dust.  These  may  explain  some  of  our  coal 
measure  sandstones.  My  study  of  the  loose  yellow  sand  formation,  (“Con¬ 
glomerate,  No.  XII,”)  of  Paint  Fork  of  Sandy  river,  in  East  Kentucky,  in 
1864,  (see  Proc.  Amer.  Philosoph.  Soc.,  April,  1865,  Vol.  X,  p.  47  et  seq.,)  im¬ 
pressed  me  strongly  with  the  idea  that  it  was  a  great  irregular  sandstone  de¬ 
posit  ;  and  only  the  presence  in  it  of  fragments  of  trees  provented  me  from 
so  describing  it.  It  rapidly  and  locally  varies  from  150  to  250  feet  in  thick¬ 
ness,  and  is  almost  entirely  destitute  of  the  usual  marks  of  water  bedding. 

J.  P.  L. 


FREEPORT  COAL  AND  LIMESTONE. 


V.  19 


northwest  from  Brady’s  Bend  indicates  however  that  we 
cannot  be  far  from  the  northwestern  limits  of  these  coal 
beds,  and  snggests  the  query :  Over  how  wide  an  area  were 
they  originally  deposited?  North  and  northwest  from 
Brady’s  Bend  in  Butler  county,  the  Upper  Freeport  Coal 
is  but  seldom  a  workable  bed,  and  is  often  apparently  ab¬ 
sent.  In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county  it  is  never 
valuable,  and  in  Beaver  county  it  is  always  a  thin  bed  and 
can  but  rarely  be  seen.  Over  this  area  then  we  may  con¬ 
sider  it  of  poor  development,  such  as  we  would  expect  to 
find  in  the  marginal  area  surrounding  its  central  basin  of 
deposition.  In  the  Pittsburgh  Well  record  no  member  of 
the  group  is  reported,  the  place  where  the  coals,  limestone 
and  fireclay  should  be  found  being  filled  by  sandstone. 

East  and  southeast  from  Brady’s  Bend  the  Freeport 
Group  has  its  best  development,  and  may  be  traced  as  a 
valuable  coal  and  ore  bearing  series  southward  to  the  State 
line,  and  eastward  to  the  face  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains. 
We  can  therefore  assign  no  limits  to  its  southern  and  east¬ 
ern  extension. 


§  16.  The  Miller stown  Coal  ancl  Mahoning  Sandstone. 

This  Coal  Bed  has  been  named  from  the  borough  of  Mil- 
lerstown  in  Donegal  township,  near  which  it  is  of  greater 
thickness  and  better  quality  than  at  any  other  locality  in 
the  county.  It  occurs  in  the  horizon  of  the  Mahoning  Sand¬ 
stone,  at  from  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  to  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifteen  feet  above  the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  and 
from  thirty-five  to  fifty  feet  above  the  upper  Freeport  Coal 
Bed. 

It  varies  from  two  to  five  feet  in  thickness  but  is  never  of 
very  good  quality,  and  is  usually  quite  a  poor  coal,  but  has 
been  mined  quite  extensively  for  use  at  the  oil  wells  between 
Karn’s  City  and  Millerstown,  and  has  also  been  mined  to 
some  extent  by  the  Karns  City  and  Butler  R.  R.  Co.,  who 
have  a  bank  opened  ujjon  it  near  the  former  place. 

In  the  absence  of  good  exposures,  or  of  oil  well  records 


20  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


giving  the  depth  at  which  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  was 
struck,  this  coal  might  often  be  mistaken  for  the  Freeport 
Upper  bed. 

A  coal  occupying  the  same  geological  horizon  as  this  bed 
is  noted  in  Report  Q,  p.  106,  as  occurring  in  Forward  town¬ 
ship.  Prof.  Lesley’s  description  of  the  Brady’s  Bend  rocks 
also  notes  a  coal  five  feet  thick  at  this  horizon  in  the  Ma¬ 
honing  Sandstone,  (and  sixty  feet  above  the  Freeport  Upper 
Coal,)  which  is  undoubtedly  the  same  with  the  Millerstown 
bed. 

The  Mahoning  Sandstone,  in  the  presence  of  this  coal  is 
usually  replaced  by  shale  or  shaly  sandstones,  and  is  some¬ 
times  split  into  two  bands  of  rather  soft  shaly  sandstone. 
It  is  seen  as  a  quite  massive  rock,  capping  the  hill  tops  of 
Brady  township,  but  is  usually  of  rather  shaly  composi¬ 
tion  and  fails  to  make  any  prominent  topographical  features. 


§  17.  Freeport  Upper  Coal. 

This  coal  is  locally  a  workable  bed  in  several  localities  in 
Oakland,  Donegal,  Clay,  and  Concord  townships ;  but  over 
the  remaining  townships  of  the  district  it  is  an  almost 
worthless  bed.  It  has  nowhere  a  thickness  or  quality  that 
will  compare  with  its  exhibit  at  Brady’ s  Bend,  and  is  often 
altogether  absent. 


§  18.  Freeport  Upper  Limestone. 

This  stratum  is  seen  less  frequently  than  the  Upper  Free¬ 
port  Coal.  In  some  parts  of  Muddy  Creek,  Franklin,  and 
Clay  townships  it  is  an  apparently  persistent  bed,  but  over 
a  large  part  of  the  district  no  trace  of  it  can  be  found. 

Attempts  have  frequently  been  made  to  burn  it  for  agri¬ 
cultural  purposes,  but  it  yields  a  lime  of  such  dark  color 
and  impure  character  that  nearly  all  farmers  are  prejudiced 
against  its  use.  It  is  never  accompanied  by  any  good  ore. 

This  limestone  is  characteristically  different  from  the  Fer- 


FREEPORT  UPPER  LIMESTONE. 


V.  21 


riferous  Limestone,  and  lies  about  two  hundred  and  forty 
to  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet  above  it. 

When  the  latter  rock  is  very  thin,  it  occasionally  has 
nearly  the  same  appearance  as  the  Freeport  bed;  but  where- 
ever  the  stone  is  exposed  to  direct  erosion  the  difference  is 
immediately  detected.  The  Freeport  Limestone  weathers 
into  extremely  hard  yellow  clay-incrusted  nodules,  while 
the  Ferriferous  nearly  always  breaks  into  slab  like  pieces 
with  irregularly  undulating  surfaces,  and  of  a  bluish  or  dirty 
white  color.  Its  outcrop  along  the  road  sides  is  always 
marked  by  a  light  slate-colored  clayey  soil,  and  by  frag¬ 
ments  lying  in  the  road,  which,  after  being  bruised  by  pass¬ 
ing  wagons,  are  very  noticeable. 


§  19.  Freeport  Lower  Coal. 

This  coal  is  a  very  irregular  and  unreliable  bed,  and  is 
workable  over  but  a  small  area.  Its  greatest  thickness  is 
found  in  Clay,  Concord,  Washington  and  Parker  town¬ 
ships,  over  a  large  part  of  which  it  can  always  be  found; 
and  is  generally  of  workable  size.  In  some  localities — as 
at  North  Washington,  and  in  Parker  township — it  has 
locally  an  enormous  thickness,  measuring  sometimes  as 
much  as  fourteen  feet;  but  where  this  abnormal  size  ob¬ 
tained  the  whole  bed  is  not  good  coal,  and  only  its  lower 
half  is  mined.  *  In  Clay  township  it  is  usually  about  five 
feet  thick,  and  always  in  two  nearly  equal  benches  parted 
by  about  one  foot  of  slate. 

Over  the  remainder  of  the  district  it  is  generally  of  poor 
quality,  but  seldom  more  than  one  or  two  feet  thick  and  is 
opened  in  very  few  places. 


§  80,  Freeport  Lower  Limestone . 

This  stratum  is  usually  quite  thin,  rarely  exceeding  one 


*  In  one  mine  a  measurement  of  sixteen  feet  was  reported. 


22  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


foot  in  thickness,  and  is  exposed  in  very  few  places  in  the 
district. 

In  Parker  township  an  ore  bed  is  found  in  local  patches 
occupying  the  horizon  of  this  limestone.  It  is  said  to  be 
of  excellent  quality,  and  was  much  esteemed  by  the  own¬ 
ers  of  the  old  furnaces  on  Bear  creek,  who  mined  it  quite 
largely  as  long  as  the  stacks  were  in  blast. 

In  the  oil  well  records  kept  by  Mr.  John  H.  Carll,  (re¬ 
printed  in  Chapter  X,)  this  limestone  is  noted  at  a  distance 
of  from  one  hundred  and  eighty  to  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  Ferriferous  Limestone.  The  stratum  is  evidently  very 
thin,  and  was  not  noticed  by  the  men  who  drilled  the  wells, 
but  I  afterwards  detected  it  in  the  sand  pumpings  that  Mr. 
Carll  had  carefully  preserved  for  future  reference.  It  may 
belong  somewhat  above  the  place  assigned  to  it  in  the 
printed  sections. 


§  21.  Freeport  Lower  Sandstone. 

This  is  the  Freeport  Sandstone  of  the  First  Survey,  and 
can  be  recognized  throughout  the  whole  district.  Its  thick¬ 
ness  can  be  said  to  vary  from  forty  to  sixty  feet,  though  it 
is  sometimes  slightly  in  excess  of  the  latter  figure.  In  some 
of  the  old  sections  a  much  greater  thickness  is  given  to  this 
rock,  but  in  every  instance  this  has  been  obtained  by  in¬ 
cluding  in  the  measurement  the  Upper  Freeport  Sandstone, 
or  the  sandy  shales  that  are  sometimes  found  beneath  the 
place  of  the  Kittanning  Upper  Coal. 

It  is  usually  a  rather  shaly,  finegrained  rock,  and  always 
shows  more  or  less  false  bedding. 

A  peculiar  local  coal  bed  occurs  near  the  middle  of  the 
mass  of  shales,  which  in  some  localities  replaces  the  sand¬ 
stone. 

This  coal  has  been  called  in  this  report  “The  Currie  Lo¬ 
cal  Coal  Bed,”  and  in  Prof.  White’s  Report  Q,  p.  121,  the 
“Eichenhaur  Local  Coal.”  It  consists  of  two  benches, 
partly  cannel  and  partly  bituminous  coal,  separated  by  a 


FREEPORT  LOWER  SANDSTONE. 


Y.  23 


band  of  shale  or  sandy  fireclay  from  a  few  inches  to  two 
feet  in  thickness. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  local  bed  of  this  charac¬ 
ter  could  have  been  formed  during  a  period  in  which  a 
great  sandrock  like  the  Freeport  Sandstone  was  being 
deposited,  and  we  are  again  forced  to  use  the  well  worn 
hypothesis  of  “ drifted  carbonaceous  material”  to  explain 
its  origin. 


§  88.  Kittanning  Upper  Coal. 

This  bed  underlies  the  Freeport  Sandstone  by  from  five 
to  fifteen  feet,  and  overlies  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  from 
one  hundred  and  ten  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet.  In 
its  thickness  and  quality  it  very  closely  resembles  the 
Kittanning  Middle  coal,  and  is  somewhat  similar  to  the 
Kittanning  Lower  bed.  In  fact  all  three  of  the  Kittanning 
coals  are  very  similar  to  each  other.  This  bed  is  the  same 
with  Mr.  White’s  “Darlington”  Bed,  and  lies  from  thirty 
to  forty-five  feet  above  the  Kittanning  Middle  Bed. 

It  is  a  good  workable  bed,  from  two  to  four  feet  thick, 
in  parts  of  Worth,  Brady,  Slippery  Bock,  Parker,  Wash¬ 
ington  and  Yenango  townships.  In  the  two  last  named 
townships  it  is  a  cannel  coal  of  very  good  quality,  but  over 
the  remainder  of  the  district  always  a  bituminous  coal. 

4/ 


§  83.  Kittanning  Middle  Coal. 

This  coal  is  absent  in  the  Kittanning  section,  and  has 
never  heretofore  been  assigned  its  right  position  in  the 
series.  It  underlies  the  Kittanning  Upper  coal  from  thirty 
to  forty-five  feet  and  overlies  the  Ferriferous  Limestone 
from  seventy  to  ninety  feet. 

It  is  a  very  persistent  bed,  is  nearly  always  of  good 
quality,  and  is  of  workable  size  in  parts  of  Muddy  Creek, 
Franklin,  Worth,  Brady,  Clay,  Slippery  Bock,  Cherry, 
Washington,  Parker,  Mercer,  and  Yenango  townships. 


24  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


§  24.  Kittanning  Lower  Coal. 

This  coal  lies  about  forty  feet  above  the  Ferriferous 
Limestone,  and  forty  feet  more  or  less  below  the  Kittanning 
Middle  bed.  Its  best  development  in  Butler  county  is 
found  in  Parker  and  Allegheny  townships. 

Over  the  remainder  of  the  district  it  is  seldom  of  work¬ 
able  size.  In  Venango  county  just  north  of  the  county 
line  it  is  a  fair  bed,  and  at  Brady5  s  Bend  is  quite  valuable, 
being  the  “Furnace*5  Bed  that  was  so  largely  worked  by 
the  Brady’s  Bend  Iron  Company.  At  Brady’s  Bend  it  lies 
forty  feet  above  the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  and  at  Kit- 
tanning  fifty  feet  above  the  same  stratum. 


§  25.  The  Kittanning  Group. 

Though  I  have  found  in  some  places  all  three  of  the 
Kittanning  coals  present,  there  is  no  locality  in  Butler 
county  where  they  are  all  of  workable  thickness.  In  many 
parts  of  Butler,  Allegheny,  Beaver,  and  Lawrence  counties 
two  good  coal  beds  are  found  between  the  Ferriferous  lime¬ 
stone  and  the  Freeport  sandstone.  The  conclusion  that 
there  were  but  two  persistent  beds  in  this  horizon  was  con¬ 
sequently  a  reasonable  one  ;  so  the  Middle  Kittanning,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Upper  Kittanning  Bed,  was  called  the 
Lower  Kittanning  Coal ;  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lower 
Kittanning,  was  mistaken  for  the  Upper  Kittanning.  The 
former  error  was  made  over  that  area  in  which  the  Middle 
Kittanning  is  absent,  and  the  latter  in  a  part  of  State  where 
the  Lower  Kittanning  is  but  rarely  seen.  Where  three 
coals  were  found  the  extra  bed  was  supposed  to  be  merely 
a  local  deposit,  which  should  not  be  placed  in  the  series  as 
one  of  its  persistent  members. 

In  the  central  part  of  Butler  county,  all  the  complete 
sections  show  three  beds  of  coal  within  the  limits  of  this 
group.  In  the  north-eastern  part  of  Franklin  township 
the  Upj>er  and  Middle  Kittanning  coals  are  both  opened 
and  worked,  lying  about  forty-five  feet  apart,  and  the  Lower 
Kittanning  coal  was  reached  in  a  well  starting  on  a  level 


KITTANNING  COAL  GROUP. 


Y.  25 


with  the  Middle  Kittanning  bed,  at  a  depth  of  forty  feet. 
The  two  upper  beds  are  also  of  good  size  at  Stone  House  in 
Brady  township,  but  only  the  upper  bed  is  there  mined. 
They  are  both  opened  and  worked  near  Harrisville  and 
Centerville,  where  the  smut  of  the  Lower  Kittanning  Bed 
is  frequently  seen  on  the  roads.  The  lower  bed  is  thin  and 
almost  worthless,  and  lies  about  forty  feet  above  the  Ferri¬ 
ferous  Limestone. 

In  Parker  township  the  Lower  and  Middle  beds  have  been 
opened,  but  they  are  both  rather  thin.  The  upper  bed  is 
here  a  cannel  coal  and  little  mined,  but  the  lower  bed  has 
been  worked  quite  largely  for  use  at  the  wells. 

These  three  coal  beds,  when  of  workable  size,  exhibit  a 
striking  similarity  to  each  other.  They  are  all  character¬ 
istic  gas  coals,  averaging  about  thirty-eight  per  cent,  of  vol¬ 
atile  matter,  and  yield  about  fifty-eight  per  cent,  of  coke. 
The  following  rude  generalization  will  show  their  general 
character : 

Water, . 1.50  to  2.50 

Volatile  Matter, .  36.00  to  41.00 

Fixed  Carbon, .  46.00  to  54.00 

Sulphur,  .  .  .  70  to  1.90 

Ash . 4.00  to  10.00 

j 

Coke, . 56  to  60  per  cent. 

A  good  specimen  taken  from  any  one  of  these  coals  will 
on  analysis,  be  found  to  agree  very  nearly  with  the  mean 
of  the  above  figures. 

Mr.  White  gives  several  analyses  of  the  Lower  Kittanning 
Coal  at  New  Brighton  (Middle  Kittanning  of  this  report, 
the  Lower  Kittanning  being  apparently  absent  in  that  lo¬ 
cality)  which  show  about  the  same  character.  In  eight  sep¬ 
arate  analyses  the  maximum  and  minimum  figures  are : 

Water, .  1.620  and  2.400 

Volatile  Matter,  .  .  .  .36.470  and  41.260 

Fixed  Carbon, .  43.263  and  54.619 

Sulphur, . 791  and  4.177 

Ash, .  4.080  and  12.570 

The  following  general  scheme  shows  the  arrangement  of 


26  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


the  group  as  correctly  as  a  detailed  description,  and  will 
be  useful  as  a  key  to  any  section  compiled  in  the  district, 


It  can  be  very  easily  remembered  : 

Freeport  Lower  Sandstone, . _____ 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, . —  3' 

Interval, . 40  ft.  — 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal, . —  3' 

Interval, . 40  ft.  — 

Kit  tanning  Lower  Coal, . —  3' 

Interval, . 40  ft.  — 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . . 


The  Ferriferous  Coal  Bed  occurs  in  the  interval  between 
the  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  and  the  Ferriferous  Limestone, 
but  is  of  no  value  within  the  county  limits.  Its  blossom 
is  frequently  seen  in  the  northern  townships,  but  is  always 
quite  thin  ;  it  is  also  seen  in  several  places  on  Slippery  Rock, 
creek,  but  is  never  thick  enough  to  be  valuable. 


§  26.  Ferriferous  Limestone. 

This  is  the  most  persistent  and  valuable  limestone  found 
beneath  the  Pittsburgh  Coal  seam.  It  is  of  its  usual  thick¬ 
ness  and  character  over  nearly  all  of  Butler  county,  but  is 
not  quarried  to  any  extent.  Its  exposures  therefore  are 
not  so  frequent  as  in  the  country  east  and  west  of  this  dis¬ 
trict,  where  it  is  finely  exposed  in  a  large  number  of  quar¬ 
ries.  The  ore  bed  usually  found  immediately  on  top,  or  in 
the  shales  above  it,  is  mostly  thin,  and  has  been  dug  in 
very  few  places. 

A  full  description  of  this  limestone  and  its  ore  bed  is 
given  in  Chap.  X,  of  this  Report. 


The  Scrubgrass  Coal  Bed  immediately  underlies  the  lime¬ 
stone  and  has  been  detected  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  county,  where  it  is  commonly  known  to  be  present,  but 
is  too  thin  to  be  mined.  Its  usual  thickness  is  from  six 


}. 


I 


2  miles  — ^  Bear  Creek  V/2  miles  Alarrmshurg. 


2  nd Geol.  /Survey  of  Pa. 


Diagram  showing  the  Clarion  Coal  split  into  two  Beds. 


FERRIFEROUS  LIMESTONE. 


Y.  27 


inches  to  one  foot  but  in  one  locality  it  is  said  to  be  18 
inches  thick.  A  short  distance  west  from  the  county  line 
in  Lawrence  county  a  bank  is  opened  upon  it,  from  which 
some  good  coal  has  been  taken.  It  is  there  about  two  feet 
thick. 

This  bed  is  probably  a  split  from  the  Clarion  Coal,  and 
on  that  ground  it  has  been  denied  a  place  in  the  preceding- 
generalized  section. 


§  27.  Clarion  Coal . 

In  the  vicinity  of  Parker  and  Martinsburg  this  bed  is 
mined  quite  largely.  At  the  former  town  it  is  about  four 
feet  thick,  but  is  a  very  sulphury  coal  and  not  much  used 
except  at  the  oil  wells. 

At  Martinsburg  the  bed  measures  seven  (7)  feet,  consist¬ 
ing  of  two  benches  of  about  three  feet  each,  parted  by  a 
band  of  slate  one  foot  thick.  Going  southward  this  slate 
in  places  almost  entirely  disappears,  but  in  a  northeasterly 
direction,  towards  Donnelly  Station,  rapidly  swells  to 
seven  (7)  feet,  making  the  measurement  of  the  whole  bed 
about  thirteen  feet.  The  upper  bench  is  almost  entirely 
lost  before  reaching  Parker.  Prof.  Rogers  gives  a  thin  coal 
as  occurring  between  the  Clarion  and  Ferriferous  Limestone 
at  Lawrenceburg,  which  is  probably  this  upper  bench  in  an 
attenuated  condition. 

The  diagram  given  in  Fig.  3,  shows  with  clearness  this 
remarkable  splitting,  and  the  confusion  into  which  it  might 
lead  us,  for  at  Lawrenceburg  there  are  apparently  two  seams 
which  (by  supposing  a  slight  change  in  the  intervals)  could 
easily  be  mistaken  for  the  Clarion  and  Brookville,  or  for 
the  Scrubgrass  and  Clarion  coal  beds. 

The  absence  of  the  Scrubgrass  coal  south  and  southeast 
from  Martinsburg,  and  its  almost  universal  presence  north 
and  northwest  from  this  locality,  make  it  probable  that  it 
is  in  reality  but  the  upper  bench  of  the  Clarion  Bed,  and 
not  as  hitherto  supposed,  an  individual  seam.  This  con¬ 
clusion  would  destroy  any  supposed  triple  character  of  the 


28  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Clarion  group,  and  compel  us  to  recognize  in  it  two  beds 
only  :  the  Brookville  and  the  Clarion. 

On  Slippery  Rock  and  Wolf  Creek  the  Clarion  Coal  is 
rather  thin,  and  little  worked.  At  Pardoe,  in  Mercer 
county,  it  is  four  feet  thick  and  is  largely  mined  by  the 
Mercer  Mining  and  Manufacturing  Company. 

It  is  opened  at  a  few  banks  in  the  northern  tier  of  town¬ 
ships,  but  is  usually  either  too  thin  or  too  slaty  and  sul¬ 
phury  to  be  a  valuable  bed.  In  Yenango  county  just  north 
of  the  Butler  county  line  it  has  been  opened  and  worked 
at  several  banks  for  many  years. 


%%8.  The  Broofcmlle  Coal  Bed: 

The  Brookville  Coal  is  opened  and  mined  at  a  few  places 
in  the  northern  tier  of  townships.  It  varies  from  a  few 
inches  to  five  feet  in  thickness,  but  is  never  a  valuable 
bed.  Even  when  it  is  four  or  five  feet  thick,  the  many 
sulphur  bands  which  the  coal  contains  render  it  nearly 
worthless. 


§  %9.  Ancient  Anticlinal  Axes. 

In  many  localities — as  at  Martinsburg  and  on  the  Slip¬ 
pery  Bock  creek — the  top  of  the  Homewood  Sandstone 
rises  above  the  horizon  of  the  Brookville  and  reaches  nearlv 

i / 

up  to  the  Clarion  bed.  In  these  instances  the  sandrock  does 
not  show  any  apparent  thickening,  but  simply  appears  to 
lie  nearer  to  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  than  it  does  when 
in  its  normal  horizon.  The  change  is  therefore  to  be  at¬ 
tributed  to  the  measures  above  this  rock,  and  not  to  the 
sandstone  itself,  and  may  possibly  have  been  occasioned  by 
the  existence  of  ancient  anticlinal  waves  prior  to  the  depo¬ 
sition  of  the  Brookville  coal  bed. 


ANCIENT  ANTICLINAL  AXES. 


Y.  29 


§  30.  Key  Section  to  the  Butler  County  Coals. 

The  following  generalization  will  be  useful  as  a  Key  Sec¬ 
tion  to  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures  of  the  district. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  used  in  it  as  the  Key  Rock, 
and  all  the  persistent  coals  of  the  series  are  shown  by  their 
distance  above  or  beneath  it,  considered  as  the  datum  plane 
from  which  all  the  principal  members  of  the  series — * 
whether  sandstones,  limestones  or  coal  beds — can  be  iden¬ 
tified  by  a  comparison  of  such  relative  vertical  distances. 

Above  top  of 
Ferr.  Limestone. 


Millerstown  Coal  Bed, .  305' 

45' 

Freeport  Upper  Coal, . ;  .  260' 

10' 

Freeport  Upper  Limestone, . 250' 

50' 

Freeport  Lower  Coal,  .  .  ) 


Freeport  Lower  Limestone,  j  * . 

70' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, . 130' 

45' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal, . 85' 


45' 

Kittanning  Lower  Coal, . 40' 

40' 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  [20'  thick.]  B Limestone^ 

0' 

Scrubgrass  Coal, . 0' 

20' 

Clarion  Coal, . 20' 

35' 

Brookville  Coal . 55' 


The  intervals  given  in  this  generalization  have  been  ex¬ 
pressed  in  round  numbers  so  that  they  can  be  readily 
memorized.  A  variation  from  the  above  figures  of  ten, 
fifteen  or  even  twenty  feet  will  frequently  be  found,  but 
the  section  can  be  applied,  in  a  general  way,  to  the  identi¬ 
fication  of  the  coal  beds  in  any  part  of  the  district. 


Chapter  V. 


§  31.  Pott  smile  Conglomerate ,  No.  XII. 

This  series  of  sandstone  and  shales  is  described  in  Part 
II  of  this  volume,  Report  on  the  Beaver  and  Slienango  Val¬ 
ievs,  where  all  the  rocks  of  the  series  are  described  in  detail. 

In  Report  Q,  the  lower  limit  of  the  section  is  placed  at 
the  Sharon  Coal  bed,  the  sandrock  beneath  it  (correspond¬ 
ing  in  position  with  Dr.  Newberry’s  Ohio  Conglomerate) 
being  thrown  into  the  Cuyahoga  shale. 

At  Sharon  a  conglomerate  from  O'  to  20'  thick  is  found 
beneath  the  coal,  and  40  feet  beneath  this  there  occurs  an 
iron-stained  sandstone,  which  Mr.  White  has  named  the 
Ferriferous  Sandstone,  which  for  the  last  two  years  I  have 
considered  as  the  base  of  the  Conglomerate  Series,  making 
the  total  thickness  from  the  Brookville  Coal  Bed  down  to 
that  stratum  about  300  feet.  This  is  more  than  50  feet  in 
excess  of  Mr.  White’s  “  Beaver  River  Series.” 

The  records  of  many  oil  wells  in  Butler  county  show  a 
series  of  sandrocks — called  by  the  drillers  the  ‘  *  Mountain 
Sands,” — about  400  feet  thick,  which  apparently  must  all 
be  included  in  the  Conglomerate  Series.  If  we  return  again 
to  Sharon  we  there  find  another  sandrock  lying  near  river 
level  and  about  100  feet  below  the  rock  I  have  considered 
the  base  of  the  series.  If  we  include  this  rock  in  the  group, 
we  then  have  a  total  thickness  of  about  400  feet,  or  175'  of 
sandrock  belonging  to  No.  XII  beneath  the  Sharon  coal. 
This  corresponds  very  well  with  the  maximum  thickness 
assigned  to  it  by  Prof.  Newberry.  The  position  of  this 
Series  and  the  Berea  Grit  at  Sharon  and  New  Castle  will 
be  discussed  in  Part  II. 

The  accompanying  generalized  section,  Fig.  4,  compiled 
from  data  obtained  in  Lawrence  and  Mercer  counties,  will 

show  the  general  arrangement  of  the  series. 

(31) 


32  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Homewood  Sandstone,  [the  Tionesta 
SS.  and  No.  XII  of  the  First  Sur- 

vey,]  10'  to  70', . 40' 

Mercer  Group,  shales  and  slates  car¬ 
rying  two  coal  beds  and  two  beds 
of  limestone,  with  fireclays,  iron 
ores,  etc.,  107  to  607,  .  .  307 

Connoquenessing  Upper  SS.,  .  .  .  50 7 

Shale  with  a  thin  coal  bed  and  iron 
ore,  (Quakertown  coal),  ....  407 

Connoquenessing  Lower  SS.,  .  .  307 

Sharon  Group  — -  Sharon  shales  and 

coal  bed, . 107 

Sharon  (“Ohio”)  Conglomerate  and 

“Ferriferous”  SS.,* . 757 

Shale  and  Sandstone — Sharon  lower 

sandstone*  at  base, .  1507  \ 

Cuyahoga  Shale  \ 


V.  4 


§  3%.  The  Homewood  Sandstone. 

This  rock  is  exposed  in  hundreds  of  places  in  the  north¬ 
ern  tier  of  townships,  but  lies  under  water  level  in  the 
central  and  southern  part  of  the  district.  On  the  Slippery 
Rock  creek  and  its  branches  it  is  nearly  always  a  very 
prominent  stratum,  jutting  out  of  the  hillsides  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  above  water  level,  and  covering  the  creek  bottoms 

*The  Ferr.  S.  S.  and  underlying  rocks  are  considered  as  part  of  the  Cuya¬ 
hoga  Shale.  See  part  II,  chap.  II. 


HOMEWOOD  SANDSTONE. 


y.  33 


with  large  blocks.  It  is  usually  rather  coarse-grained,  and 
is  always  more  or  less  stained  with  iron,  the  presence  of 
which  causes  it  to  weather  in  rough  gnarled  blocks  of  great 
hardness. 

It  is  finely  exposed  near  Martinsburg,  in  the  valley  of 
Bear  creek,  where  it  frequently  outcrops  in  perpendicular 
escarpments  from  10  to  30  feet  in  height.  It  here  fills  a 
position  in  the  measures  somewhat  above  its  usual  horizon, 
lying  only  a  few  feet  below  the  Clarion  coal  bed. 


The  Mercer  Group ,  which  is  of  much  importance  in  Mer¬ 
cer  and  Lawrence  counties,  is  very  poorly  represented  in 
this  county. 

I  have  never  seen  either  of  the  two  Mercer  limestones 
within  the  limits  of  the  district,  but  both  the  upper  and 
lower  Mercer  coal  beds  are  present  in  some  localities  as  im¬ 
pure  beds  of  bituminous  shale,  usually  accompanied  by 
fireclay  and  bands  of  nodular  iron  ore.  The  latter  has  been 
worked  on  Bear  creek,  and  a  small  quantity  of  it  has  been 
dug  on  Slippery  Bock  creek,  but  the  coal  beds  are  never 
of  workable  thickness  or  quality. 


The  Connoquenessing  Sandstone  is  laid  bare  in  the  gorge 
of  Bear  creek,  and  in  the  cutting  at  the  Parker  Elevator, 
but  at  in  no  other  part  of  the  county  is  it  above  water 
level. 


The  horizon  of  the  Sharon  coal  bed  has  been  passed 
through  in  thousands  of  oil  wells,  but  we  have  never  heard 
of  any  coal  being  found  at  a  depth  corresponding  to  the 
place  at  which  it  should  be  found.  The  Gibson  and  Ecock 
well  reports  a  coal  bed  which  lies  somewhat  above  the  place 
of  this  bed,  and  is  probably  the  coal  or  bituminous  shale 
often  found  between  the  two  subdivisions  of  the  Connoque¬ 
nessing  Sandstone.  This  bed  is  seen  at  Donnelly  Station, 
3  Y. 


34  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


on  Bear  creek,  but  is  there  an  impure  mass  of  bituminous 
shale.  It  probably  was  of  the  same  character  in  the  Gib¬ 
son  and  Ecock  well. 


The  sandrocks  underlying  the  horizon  of  the  Sharon  coal 
are  shown  by  sand-pumpings  from  the  six  oil  wells  watched 
by  Mr.  John  EL  Carll,  to  be  rather  finer  grained  and  more 
micaceous  than  the  Homewood  rock.  Though  it  is  proba¬ 
ble  that  they  are  quite  massive  rocks,  they  are  seldom  very 
hard,  and  good  time  is  usually  made  in  drilling  through 
them. 

The  lower  sandrocks  of  this  series  have  yielded  lubri¬ 
cating  oil  in  small  quantities  on  Slippery  Rock  creek,  in 
Lawrence  county,  but  no  paying  wells  have  ever  been  ob¬ 
tained  in  them  in  Butler  county.  In  the  southern  part  of 
the  county  the  upper  part  of  the  series  contains  much  salt 
water.  It  has  a  similar  character  in  Allegheny  county. 


DETAILED  GEOLOGY 


OF  THE 

NORTHERN  HALF  OF  BUTLER  COUNTY. 


Chapter  VI. 

§  S3.  First  or  southern  tier  of  townships. 

This  tier  of  townships  embracing  Muddy  Creek,  Frank¬ 
lin,  Centre,  Oakland,  and  Donegal,  extends  from  west  to 
east  across  the  county  just  north  of  its  central  line,  and  is 
principally  underlaid  by  the  out-crop  of  the  Freeport 
Group. 

On  the  highlands,  the  lower  portion  of  the  Barren  Measures 
is  found,  but  the  rocks  of  this  series  cover  a  very  small  area. 

The  Kittanning  Group  is  laid  bare  by  the  erosion  of  Muddy 
Creek  ;  and  the  upper  coals  of  the  same  group  appear  above 
water  level  on  Kearn5  s  branch  of  the  Connoquenessing  and 
along  Buffalo  Creek. 

The  Freeport  Group,  to  which  we  should  look  for  the 
main  supply  of  coal,  is,  in  these  townships,  most  miserably 
represented  by  thin,  slaty  and  sulphury  beds,  but  rarely 
of  workable  thickness,  often  little  better  than  bituminous 
shale,  and  sometimes  apparently  altogether  wanting.  The 
limestones  of  the  group  are  seldom  present. 

In  some  localities  the  upper  rocks  of  this  group  are  ap¬ 
parently  replaced  by  Barren  Measures  shales,  as  though 
they  were  either  never  deposited,  or  were  eroded  by  an  an¬ 
cient  denudation  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the  latter  rocks. 

By  reference  to  the  contour  lined  map,  it  will  be  seen  that 

these  townships  are  nearly  all  occupied  by  high  land  of 

(35) 


36  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


rather  regular  outline.  They  contain  some  very  fair  farm¬ 
ing  and  grazing  land,  but  the  absence  of  any  good  stratum 
of  limestone  will  always  prevent  them  from  being  made  as 
productive  as  they  might  be  were  it  possible  to  obtain  for 
them  a  liberal  supply  of  lime. 


§  3h.  Muddy  Creek  Township. 

This  township  lies  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the 
district,  adjoining  Lawrence  county  on  the  west,  and  Lan¬ 
caster  township  on  the  south. 

The  Lower  Productive  Coal  measures,  from  the  top  of  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone  to  the  top  of  the  Mahoning  Sand¬ 
stone,  are  found  in  fair  development  within  its  limits. 

The  Freeport  Group  has  locally  its  usual  character 
in  the  vicinity  of  Portersville,  but  its  coal  beds  are  not  of 
workable  size  or  quality.  The  Freeport  Upper  limestone 
is  laid  bare  in  the  road  bed  in  a  number  of  places  near  the 
town,  and  though  it  appears  to  be  of  fair  quality  none  of 
it  is  burnt  or  quarried. 

All  the  fuel  used  in  the  township  is  obtained  from  the 
Kittanning  Upper  and  Middle  coals.  These  beds  furnish 
a  coal  of  good  quality,  and  are  usually  thick  enough  for 
profitable  mining. 

On  Muddy  Creek,  near  the  Lawrence  County  line,  the 
coals  underlying  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  are  brought 
above  water  level,  but  are  too  thin  and  poor  to  be  worked. 

The  section  shown  in  Fig.  5,  was  compiled  partly  from 
exposures  between  Portersville  and  the  Iron  Bridge  over 
Muddy  Creek,  and  partly  from  data  obtained  on  the  Sun- 
bury  road  two  miles  east  of  town. 

At  the  place  where  the  section  was  compiled  the  Free¬ 
port  Upper  Limestone  could  not  be  found.  It  is  ex¬ 
posed  in  several  places  near  Portersville,  where  it  is  appa¬ 
rently  two  to  three  feet  thick,  and  overlaid  by  a  thin  coal 
bed,  which  is  often  very  difficult  to  find.  In  the  summit 
half  a  mile  north  from  town  the  limestone  and  coal  lie 


MUDDY  CREEK  TOWNSHIP. 


y.  37 


about  thirty  feet  above  their  outcrop  near  the  grave  yard, 
showing  that  a  sharp  local  south  dip  pervades  this  neigh¬ 
borhood. 

Porter  smile  Section. 

Hard  massive  sandstone  and  conglomerate. 

[Mahoning  S.  S.]  capping  the  highest 

hills . (seen,)  15' 

Concealed:  (soft  measures,)  .  .  30' 

Olive  slate,  (seen,) . 3' 

Red  slate, . 2' 

Freeport  Upper  coal,  blossom. 

Concealed, . 50' 

Freeport  Lower  coal,  about,  ...  Y 
Concealed :  Contains  Freeport ) 

Lower  SS.  and  Upper  Kit-  >130' 
tanning  Coal  bed,  .  .  .  .  ) 

Kittanning  Middle  coal, . 3' 

Concealed, . 15' 

Sandstone,  hard, . 10' 

Concealed, . 30' 

Kittanning  Lower  coal,  cannel  slate,  blossom 

Concealed, . 35' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 15' 


The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  exposed  in  a  series  of  quar¬ 
ries  on  the  north  bank  of  Muddy  Creek  near  the  Iron 
Bridge.  It  is  also  exposed  at  Shaw’s  Bridge,  where  the 
stone  has  been  quarried  and  a  small  quantity  of  ore  stripped 
Lorn  its  upper  surface.  Between  Shaw's  and  the  Iron 
Bridge  this  stratum  is  constantly  accessible,  its  outcrop 
lying  along  the  side  hills  of  the  valley  but  a  few  feet  above 
water  level. 

The  quarries  at  the  Iron  Bridge  have  been  opened  for 
many  years,  and  much  stone  has  been  taken  from  them, 
but  at  present  they  are  lying  idle,  though  there  is  no 
apparent  cause  for  this  neglect,  other  than  the  reluc¬ 
tance  of  farmers  to  buy  lime  if  they  can  possibly  do  with¬ 
out  it. 

Going  out  of  Portersville  by  the  road  leading  north-west 


V.  5 


7\=T7 

— At-  /  V-T 

?  30 

?  30 

a  /..a/- 

/  \  /  ?  1 

/  \/  /y  ?/} 

?  IS 

r:  ■  -y— 1 

)  A 

?  30 

?  33 

. El . 31 

38  v. 


REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


into  Lawrence  comity,  we  find  a  coal  bank 
opened  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Bailey  which 
measures:  (Fig.  0.) 

Bailey ’  s  Coal  Bank. 

Shaly  Sandstone  roof. 

Soft  coal  slate, . 1'  to  2' 

Coal, . 2'  6"  to  3' 

Fireclay  floor. 

It  is  quite  variable  in  thickness,  but  of  rather  fair  quality, 
and  is  referable  either  to  the  Upper  or  Middle  Kittanning 
Bed. 

At  the  steam  grist  mill  two  miles  southwest  of  Porters- 
ville  a  bed — probably  the  same  with  the  one  worked  by 
Mr.  Bailey — lias  been  opened  and  mined  quite  largely  for 
use  under  the  steam  boilers  of  the  mill.  It  usually  aver¬ 
ages  from  3'  6"  to  4'  6"  of  workable  coal,  but  the  whole  bed 
generally  measures  over  five  feet. 

It  was  opened  about  ten  years  ago,  and  has  been  in  oper¬ 
ation  ever  since,  and  though  a  very  large  amount  of  coal 
has  been  taken  out,  there  is  still  a  large  body  accessible 
at  this  bank.  Though  it  is  somewhat  sulphury,  and  the 
slaty  partings  are  sometimes  troublesome,  the  bed  has 
given  the  owners  a  satisfactory  fuel,  with  but  little  cost  for 
mining,  and  none  for  transportation. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  bank  a  measurement  was  made 
which  gave  the  structure  si 
Grist  Mill  Coal  Bank. 

Dark  blue  slate  roof. 

Bituminous  shaly  slate,  . 

Coal  and  slate,  .  .  . 

Coal, . 

Soft  parting,  .... 

Coal,  . . 

Bone, . 

Coal, . 

About  half  a  mile  east  of  the  mill  a  band  of  limestone 
one  foot  thick  is  exposed  in  the  road  bed,  at  an  elevation 
of  about  100  feet  above  the  bank.  It  is  accompanied  by  a 


>wn  in  Fig.  7 : 


O'  3"  ^ 
O'  2" 
O'  5" 
0'  1" 
1'  3" 
0'  2" 
2'  8" 


5'  0" 


MUDDY  CREEK  TO  WIST SHIP. 


Y.  39 


very  thin  seam  of  coal  which  is  either  the  Upper  or  Lower 
Freeport  bed,  but  I  was  unable  to  determine  to  which  one 
of  these  it  should  properly  be  referred. 

The  Kit  tanning  Upper  Bed  is  mined  quite  largely  on 
both  the  east  and  west  branches  of  Yellow  Creek,  where  it 
is  a  coal  of  excellent  quality  and  good  thickness. 

A  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  East  Branch  it 
is  opened  at  a  bank  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  White,  where  the 
bed  shows  a  thickness  of  8'  1"  as  illustrated  by  Fig.  8 : 

White ’  s  Coal  Bank. 

Soft  black  slate  roof. 

Coal . 


Parting, 


Coal  (sulphury), 
Parting,  .  . 

Coal,  .... 


V  2"  ' 
0'  1" 
v  i" 

O'  1" 

O'  8 " 


V.8 


O  / 


3 


At  the  head  of  the  East  Branch,  near  the  Porters ville 
road,  it  is  opened  by  two  banks  on  the  adjoining  farms 
owned  by  Mrs.  M.  McConnell  and  Mr.  W.  Balston.  It  is 
here  about  75  feet  higher  than  at  the  White  Bank,  being 
lifted  to  the  northwest  by  a  sharp  rise  of  about  40  feet  per 
mile.  At  the  Balston  opening  the  bed  exhibits  the  struc¬ 
ture  shown  by  Fig.  9  : 

Ralston  coal  banlc. 

Shale  roof. 

Slaty  coal, . 2" 

Coal, . 6" 

Bone,  . . 1" 

Coal, . V  10"  to  2'  0" 

Fireclay  floor. 

On  the  Portersville  road,  a  short  distance  from  this  bank, 
and  about  130  feet  above  it,  the  blossom  of  the  Upper  Free¬ 
port  coal  was  noticed  in  several  places  where  laid  bare  by 
the  gutter  erosion.  It  is  from  one  to  two  feet  thick. 

Returning  to  the  confluence  of  the  two  branches  of  Yel¬ 
low  creek,  and  going  up  the  West  Branch,  we  see  the  Up¬ 
per  Kit  tanning  coal  opened  quite  frequently  at  banks  but 
a  short  distance  apart.  The  bed  rises  quite  rapidly — forty 


\2'  9 


40  Y. 


REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


feet,  more  or  less,  in  a  mile — so  that  it  passes  under  water 
level  before  the  Prospect  and  Portersville  road  is  reached. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  W.  Branch  it  is  opened  by  a  bank 
owned  by  Mr.  Wm.  Barkley,  where  the  bed  measures  3  ft. 

1  in.,  with  but  one  thin  band  of  slate ;  showing  about  the 
same  structure  as  the  White  Bank,  (Fig.  8, )  with  the  lower 
parting  absent.  About  one  half  mile  farther  up  the  stream, 
it  is  mined  by  Mr.  D.  It.  Melvin,  at  whose  opening  the  bed 
measures:  (Fig.  10.) 

Melvin  coal  bank.  V.IO 

Dark  Shale  Poof. 

Coal, . 1'  0"  \ 

Soft  parting, .  I"!- 3' 5" 

Coal, . 2'  4"  ) 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  lower  bench  is  somewhat  troubled  with  sulphur  bind-  , 
ers,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  bank  they  are  so  plentiful  that 
the  value  of  the  coal  is  greatly  reduced. 

Proceeding  up  the  stream  towards  Portersville,  the  coal 
is  again  seen,  about  one  half  mile  northwest  from  the  latter 
bank,  and  twenty-five  feet  above  it ;  in  an  opening  on  the 
Myers  Farm.  A  thin  bench  of  poor  slaty  coal  here  comes 
in  on  top  of  the  bed,  and  partly  at  the  expense  of  the  top 
bench.  The  measurement  made  at  this  bank  is  shown  in 
Figure  11 : 

Myers  coal  bank. 

Slaty  Coal,  .  .  . 

Coal, . 

Soft  parting,  .  . 

Coal,  (visible,)  .  .  , 

Between  this  bank  and  Portersville  the  Upper  Kittanning 
bed  has  been  opened  in  two  places  near  the  the  Portersville 
road,  where  the  coal  lies  about  thirty-five  feet  higher  than  at 
the  former  opening.  Both  these  banks  have  long  since  fal¬ 
len  into  disuse  and  the  coal  cannot  be  satisfactorily  ex¬ 
amined. 

In  the  low  land  surrounding  the  town  on  the  north  and 
east,  this  bed  has  been  opened  and  mined  in  small  quantities 


MUDDY  CREEK  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  41 


from  a  number  of  banks,  among  which  may  be  mentioned 
those  on  the  Stewart,  Oliver,  Jones,  and  Bailey  Farms. 
Over  this  area  the  bed  is  of  much  poorer  quality  than  on 
Yellow  creek,  so  that  these  banks  have  gradually  been 
abandoned,  and  at  present  nearly  all  the  coal  used  in  Por- 
tersville  and  its  vicinity,  is  brought  from  the  openings  in 
the  former  locality. 

On  the  Isaac  Moore  farm,  two  miles  northeast  from  town, 
the  Middle  (Upper  ?)  Kittanning  Coal  was  opened  and  worked 
a  few  years  ago.  The  bed  is  said  to  be  three  feet  thick  with 
six  inches  of  slaty  coal  on  top,  and  has  a  slate  roof  and  hre 
clay  floor.  The  same  bed  is  opened  by  Mr.  William  Burns, 
in  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  township,  where  the  coal 
exhibits  the  structure  shown  in  Fig.  12  : 

Burns  coal  hank. 

Slate  roof. 

Coal,  rather  soft, . O'  10" 

Slaty  Coal, .  2" 

Coal,  about, . 2'  0" 

The  lower  bench  yields  very  good  coal,  but  the  upper 
bench  is  quite  soft  and  dirty.  The  bed  is  undoubtedly  the 
Middle  Kittanning  Coal  bed,  yet  it  structure  is  strikingly 
similar  to  the  bed  on  Yellow  creek  which  Mr.  White  has 
referred  to  the  place  of  the  Upper  Kittanning,  and  suggests 
the  query  :  may  not  the  two  be  identical  ?  If  this  be  the 
case,  then  the  Yellow  Creek  coal  is  the  Middle  Kittanning, 
and  the  Upper  Kittanning  was  not  detected  in  that  locality. 

On  the  Widow  Gallagher  farm,  near  the  Burns’  Bank, 
this  coal  is  said  to  measure  three  feet,  with  no  slaty  or  bony 
parting,  though  there  is  a  layer  of  “  very  hard  coal”  from 
three  to  four  inches  thick  near  the  middle  of  the  bed.  This 
“very  hard  coal”  is  probably  nothing  more  than  a  seam 
of  bony  coal,  and  the  equivalent  of  the  slaty  partings  ob¬ 
served  in  other  banks  near  by. 

§  35.  Franklin  township. 

This  township  lies  north  from  Connoquenessing  and  east 
from  Muddy  Creek  township. 


42  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


V.I3 


Robert  Allen  Well  Section. 


Sandstone  and  shale  to  summit,  75' 
[The  Freeport  Upper  Coal  and 
Limestone  should  appear  near 
the  top  of  this  interval,  but  no 
trace  of  them  was  seen  on  the 
road.] 


Freeport  Lower  Coal  blossom,  .  .  V 

Shale  and  Slate  with  S.  S.  near 


middle, . 80' 

Kit  tanning  Upper  Coal,  ....  3' 

Sandy  Shale,  . . 42' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  [Well 
mouth,] . 3' 


Well  Record,  .  .  Conductor, 

Fireclay  ? 
Shale,  .  . 

[Kitt.,  Lower,]  .  Coal,  .  . 

Fireclay, 

Loadstone, 

[Ferr.  Limeat  base,  ]  White 

Sandstone, 
Shale,  . 

y  [Homewood  S.  S.]  Black 
M  .  soft  SS. 

6  [Mercer  Group,]  Shale,  .  . 

K  '  White  . 

|  soft  S.S. 

§  [Mercer?]  [?]  .  Coal,  .  . 


0 

Ph 

0 

> 

c3 

0 

PQ 


Black  S.S., 
Mountain 
Sand,  .  . 

Shale,  .  . 

Black  S.S. 

Gas  and  oil . . 

S.  S.  heavy  flow  of  salt  water, 

to 


Depth  of  well,  . 


ir 

15' 

8' 

10' 

2' 

2' 

|  40' 
10' 


152' 

20' 

10' 

660' 

1040' 

1090' 

1094' 


’  ■  ■  - 

70m 

jp'Lu 

?  17 

2  f.c.  15 

/  v  Md 

'  /\  /  v 

- TV - - T — - A - 7 

i  /  7  \  R 

y  /  y  / 

A  /  / 

/  \  /  /A  / 

1=4-  Lf 

~  !  i  t 

i  /  / 

/  t  /  / 

L - /  ( 

/  t~1q2 

—L  L ( 

/  /  — 

Z~if 

7  7  T 

Y 

ZA  /  trdU 

4  42 ft  in  Weft 


FRANKLIN  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  43 


The  lowest  rock  exposed  within  its  limits  is  the  Middle 
Kittanning  Coal  Bed,  which  lies  at  water  level  on  Muddy 
Creek.  In  the  high  dividing  ridge  near  Prospect,  the  lower 
part  of  the  Barren  Measures  is  caught  in  the  highest  sum¬ 
mits,  but  it  contains  nothing  valuable.  The  township  is  not 
very  well  supplied  with  coal.  Both  the  Upper  and  Middle 
Kittanning  beds  are  of  workable  size  near  ' Muddy  Creek, 
but  their  available  area  is  quite  small,  as  they  soon  sink 
below  water  level,  approaching  the  eastern  line  of  the  town¬ 
ship. 

The  detailed  section,  of  219  feet,  shown  in  Fig.  13,  was 
compiled  from  exposures  on  the  Prospect  road,  a  short 
distance  north  from  Muddy  Creek.  It  is  supplemented  by 
a  record  of  the  Robt.  Allen  Well,  which  was  unsuccessfully 
drilled  for  oil  some  years  ago.  The  Ferriferous  Limestone 
is  not  noted  in  this  record,  but  should  have  been  found  in 
the  interval  noted  “  White  sandstone,  40  feet.”  It  may  be 
absent,  but  was  most  probably  confounded  with  the  sand 
rock,  and  included  in  it  by  the  driller. 

Two  coal  beds  of  fabulous  size  are  reported  in  the  above 
well  record:  the  first,  which  is  undoubtedly  the  Lower 
Kittanning  bed,  will  probably  prove  to  contain  not  more 
than  three  or  four  feet  of  workable  coal ;  the  second,  or 
eight  foot  bed  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  stratum  of  black 
slate,  bituminous  shale,  or  impure  coal.  It  belongs  to  the 
Mercer  (?)  Group  of  inter- comglomerate  beds. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  is  opened  and  mined  on  the 
farm  of  Mr.  Robert  Allen  in  close  proximity  to  the  old 
well.  A  measurement  of  the  bed  near  the  mouth  of  the 
bank  gave  : — Fig.  14. 

Robert  Allen  Coal  Banlt ,  {mouth).  ,  V.  14 


Soft  Coal, 


Hard  Coal 


At  the  head  of  the  entry,  the  coal  is  all  hard  and  good, 
and  averages  2'  4"  in  thickness.  A  second  measurement, 
made  midway  between  the  mouth  of  the  bank  and  the  most 
distant  workings,  shows  : — Fig.  15. 


44  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Robert  Allen  Coal  Bank,  (inside). 

Poor  Coal, .  3"  \ 

Soft  Coal, .  8"  v  2'  2" 

Good  Coal,  . V  3"  ) 

This  bed  presents  the  rather  unusual  feature  of  a  coal  of 
workable  size,  containing  no  partings  of  slate  or  bone. 

On  the  J.  W.  Campbell  farm,  near  Muddy  Creek,  the 
same  bed  was  opened  at  a  bank  nearly  at  creek  level 
and  was  worked  for  several  years,  but  the  bank  has 
long  since  fallen  shut,  and  the  coal  cannot  now  be  seen. 
At  the  time  of  collecting  the  data  for  this  report,  a  bank 
was  being  opened  on  the  John  Gallagher  farm.  The  entry 
had  only  been  driven  in  about  fifteen  feet,  but  the  outcrop 
coal  visible  indicated  the  presence  of  a  good  bed,  with  no 
perceptible  band  of  slate,  bone,  or  pyrites.  It  measured 
about  2'  10". 

At  Baker’s  Bank,  near  Mr.  Allen’s  place  on  the  north 
side  of  the  creek,  the  bed  is  of  quite  good  quality,  and 
measures  from  2'  6"  to  2'  8".  (See  Fig.  16.) 

Baker  s  Coal  Bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Slaty  Coal, .  3"  ) 

Soft  Coal, .  6"l  2'7" 

Good  Coal, . V  10"  ) 

Fireclay  floor. 

This  bank  is  well  drained  and  is  in  good  running  order. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  from  Prospect,  on  the 
farm  owned  by  Mr.  J.  Y.  English,  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
has  been  made  to  open  the  same  bed,  but  the  coal  dipped  so 
rapidly  into  the  hill,  that  the  proposed  mine  was  drowned 
out  before  the  entry  had  been  driven  in  two  rods.  At  the 
outcrop  the  bed  consists  of  (See  Fig.  17) : 

English  Coal  Bank. 

Slaty  shale  roof. 

Soft  Slaty  Coal,  . V 

Coal,  variable,  about . 2' 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  Freeport  Sandstone  outcrops  on  the  hillside  about, 
fifty  feet  above  the  coal,  giving  the  section  shown  in  Fig.  18. 


V.l  7 


FBANKLIN  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  45 


Section  near  Prospect. 

Freeport  Sandstone  ;  hard,  massive, 
and  rather  coarse,  ......  25'  (seen) 

Coal  blossom,  upper  Kittanning  bed,  V  (J) 

Concealed — shale, . 50' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  ....  3' 

Fireclay. 


$36.  Kittanning  TJpper  Coal.  ( Franklin  T.) 

This  bed  has  been  opened  and  worked  at  a  number  of 
banks  on  the  Wm.  Wigton  and  Sami.  W.  Shannon  Farms, 
near  Muddy  creek,  about  one  mile  east  from  Mr.  Allen’s 
residence,  but  most  of  them  have  fallen  shut,  and  those 
still  open  were  too  full  of  water  to  allow  a  proper  examina¬ 
tion  to  be  made.  The  bed  is  claimed  to  measure  from  four 
feet  to  four  feet  ten  inches,  with  a  central  parting  of  slate 
from  two  to  ten  inches  thick.  At  the  mouth  of  one  of  the 
banks,  which  was  partly  accessible,  the  coal  gave  the  meas¬ 
urements  shown  in  Fig.  19. 

Wigton  and  Shannon  banks. 

Shale  roof. 

Coal, . O'  7"  to  V  4" 

Slate, .  O'  6" 

Coal, .  V  11" 

Slate, .  0'  2" 

Fireclay  floor. 

In  the  surrounding  hillsides  frequent  attempts  have  been 
made  to  open  this  bed,  but  it  seems  to  lie  in  an  irregularly 
shaped  “pot,”  and  is  thin  and  poor  in  all  of  the  places 
where  its  outcrop  can  be  seen.  A  short  distance  north¬ 
west  from  the  banks,  an  entry  was  driven  into  the  same 
hill  for  quite  a  long  distance,  but  the  bed  was  usually  only 
a  few  inches  thick,  sometimes  swelling  to  a  maximum 
of  two  feet,  and  was  of  poor  quality,  being  very  dirty  and 
filled  with  thin  seams  of  slate. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  underlies  the  above  des¬ 
cribed  bed,  about  forty  feet,  and  is  opened  on  the  farm  of 
Mr.  G.  J.  McCandless,  where  it  shows : 


V.  19 


46  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


McCandless  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Slate, . O'  6" 

Coal, . 2' 4" 

Fireclay  floor  (?). 


V.20 


but  is  rather  pyritous  and  slaty,  and  has  not  been  worked 
for  several  years. 

The  following  section,  shown  in  Fig.  21,  exhibits  the 
relation  of  this  coal  to  the  one  overlying  it. 

McCandless  section. 

Freeport  Lower  Sandstone,  hard  and 


massive,  (seen,)  . 15' 

Shale,  . 10' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, . 4' 

Shale  and  Slate, . 42' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal, . 3' 


About  a  mile  and  a  half  east  by  north  from  the  Wigton 
Banks,  the  Upper  Kittanning  Coal  has  been  opened  on  the 
place  owned  by  Mr.  W.  N.  McCandless,  but  the  bed  was 
very  thin,  and  not  worth  working. 

The  Freeport  Upper  Coal  and  Limestone  should  be  found 
in  the  hills  near  Prospect  and  Mount  Chestnut,  but  ex¬ 
cepting  over  a  small  area  north  from  the  former  place,  they 
are  apparently  absent. 

Half  a  mile  north  from  Prospect  the  limestone  is  detected 
by  scattered  fragments  from  its  outcrop,  and  is  probably 
about  two  feet  thick.  Its  overlying  coal  bed  outcrops 
rather  faintly  on  the  steep  hillside  west  of  the  main  road, 
but  is  probably  too  thin  to  be  of  any  value. 


§  37.  Oil  Wells.  ( Franklin  T.) 

Within  the  limits  of  this  township,  several  wells  have 
been  unsuccessfully  drilled  for  oil,  but  no  detailed  or  even 
fragmentary  reliable  records  of  them  ban  now  be  obtained. 

The  Nesbitt  Well  on  the  Hindman  Farm,  and  the  Mc¬ 
Candless  Well  near  the  swamp  were  both  drilled  in  1877. 


FRANKLIN  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  47 


Nothing  could  be  learned  in  regard  to  the  latter,  but  the 
following  imperfect  record  of  the  former,  was  kindly  fur¬ 
nished  by  Mr.  Robert  Allen. 

The  Nesbitt  oil  wells 

This  well  is  situated  on  the  flat  of  a  small  tributary 
emptying  into  Muddy  Creek  from  the  south,  and  is  about  on 
a  level  with  the  Middle  Kittanning  Coal  bed.  The  Ferrif¬ 


erous  Limestone  should  have  been  reached  at  a  depth  of 
between  70  and  90  feet,  but  it  is  reported  in  the  well  at  210 
feet.  If  any  limestone  was  found  at  that  depth,  it  must 
have  been  one  of  the  Mercer  Limestones.  It  seems  prob¬ 
able  that  the  drillers  of  this  well  have  mistaken  the  bed  of 
“soft  white  Sandstone  8  feet”  thick,  noted  at  a  depth  of 
208  to  216  feet  in  the  Robert  Allen  Well  (see  page  42)  for 
the  Ferriferous  Limestone.  In  the  Smith  Well,  (see  Brady 
township)  which  starts  about  145  feet  above  the  Nesbitt 
Well,  the  limestone  is  reported  at  230  feet.*. 230'  — 145' 
=857  as  the  depth  at  which  we  should  expect  to  find  it  in 
the  latter  well.  From  these  facts  it  is  certain  that  the  Ferr. 
Limestone  could  not  have  been  found  at  the  depth  stated 
in  the  record,  thus  : 

Nesbitt  well  record. 

Limestone,  at . 215' 

Mountain  Sand,  at .  375' 

First  Sand,  at .  1090' 

Second  Sand,  a:  .  1275' 

Third  Sand,  at .  1375' 

Cased  at  510  feet.  Total  depth  of  well  1492'. 

Mr.  Allen  also  gives  the  following  record  of  the  McCand- 
less  Well,  drilled  by  Messrs.  Satterfield  and  Taylor,  situ¬ 
ated  above  the  swamp  in  Franklin  (or  Centre  ? )  township. 
McCandless  oil  well  record. 

Limestone,  at .  235'  to  250' 

Mountain  Sand,  at .  470'  “  630' 

First  Sand,  at . 1130'  “  1180' 

Second  Sand,  at  . .  .  1370' 

Depth  of  well,  .  1500'^k 

“  Heavy  vein  of  salt  water  found  in  the  First  Sand.” 

The  preceding  records  were  furnished  by  Mr.  Allen  just 


48  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


as  lie  had  received  them  from  other  parties,  without  any 
alterations,  and  any  inaccuracies  that  they  may  contain  are 
not  to  be  attributed  to  him.  He  has  devoted  much  time 
to  obtaining  these  and  other  oil  well  records,  levels,  etc., 
and  feels  very  keenly  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  any  accu¬ 
rate  information  of  this  kind. 

§  38.  Centre  Township. 

This  is  an  aptly  named  township,  as  it  lies  in  the  centre 
of  the  county,  with  two  townships  west  and  two  east  of  it, 
three  north  and  three  south  of  it.  It  is  directly  east  from 
Franklin  and  north  from  Butler  township. 

In  its  southern  and  central  portions  the  lower  rocks  of 
Barren  Measures  are  caught  in  the  hilltops,  but  are  barren 
of  workable  coal  beds. 

The  blossom  of  a  coal,  which  is  probably  the  representa¬ 
tive  of  the  Brush  Creek  Coal  bed ,  is  often  seen  on  the  road¬ 
sides  at  an  elevation  of  nearly  a  hundred  feet  above  the 
Upper  Freeport  Coal,  but  the  bed  is  always  of  poor  quality 
and  too  thin  to  be  valuable.  Ho  trace  of  its  accompany¬ 
ing  bed  of  limestone  was  observed,  but  it  may  be  present, 
though  it  is  probably  quite  thin. 

The  Mahoning  Upper  Sandstone  (Buffalo  S.  S.  of  report 
Q)  is  seldom  a  massive  rock,  and  its  horizon  is  usually 
filled  with  tough  sandy  shale,  or  argillaceous  sandstone. 

The  Freeport  Group  occupies  every  hillside  in  the  town¬ 
ship,  and, — with  the  exception  of  a  small  area  on  Kearn’s 
Branch  of  the  Connoquenessing, — always  extends  down  to 
water  level  in  the  streams.  As  this  group  is  generally  of 
poor  development  throughout  the  township,  the  latter  is 
not  very  well  supplied  with  coal. 

§  39.  Unionmlle  Coal  Banks.  ( Centre  T.) 

About  three  quarters  of  a  mile  east  of  Unionville,  are 
the  entries  of  two  coal  banks  in  close  proximity  to  each 
other,  which  have  been  in  operation  for  over  twenty  years. 
One  of  these  banks  is  owned  by  Mr.  Daniel  Heck,  and  the 
other  is  on  the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  Eli  G.  Eagle. 


CENTRE  TOWNSHIP. 


y.  49 


The  coal  is  of  excellent  quality,  and  will  compare  favor¬ 
ably  with  any  of  the  coals  of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal 
Measures.  It  is  a  hard,  black,  lustrous,  rich  looking  coal, 
but  in  some  parts  of  the  bank  is  somewhat  pyritous.  The 
middle  bench  contains  little  sulphur,  but  both  the  upper 
and  lower  benches  in  places  carry  so  many  sulphur 
binders,  as  to  materially  impair  its  value.  The  following 
analysis  was  made  by  Mr.  McCreath  from  a  sample  taken 


from  the  middle  bench : 

Water, . 2.110 

Volatile  matter,  . 37.570 

Fixed  carbon,  . 51.248 

Sulphur, .  1.894 

Ash,  (cream  color,) .  7.178 


100.000 

Coke,  per  cent.,  . .  60.320 

Both  of  these  banks  have  been  worked  a  long  distance 
into  the  hill,  and  unfortunately  in  the  same  direction  with 
the  dip  of  the  bed,  [ i .  e.  to  the  south,]  necessitating  deep 
drains.  In  some  places  these  have  been  dug  into  the  un¬ 
derlying  fireclay  to  a  depth  of  ten  feet  without  reaching 
its  bottom. 


Ilcclb  coal  banlc. 


Slaty  shale  roof. 

Coal, . 

Slate, . 

Coal, . 

Slate, . 

Coal, . 

Slate, . 


V  6" ' 

O'  1" 

v  o"  [.  4 

O'  1" 

V  6" 

V  0" 


Fireclay  floor,  quite  hard,  over  10  ft.  thick. 


V.22 


'2" 


A  measurement  of  the  bed  made  in  the  entry  of  the  Heck 
Bank  gave  the  structure  exhibited  in  Fig.  22. 

The  above  measurement  gives  4!  2 "  as  the  total  thickness 
of  the  bed,  but  it  does  not  retain  this  thickness  over  a  very 
large  area.  Search  has  been  made  for  the  bed  at  many 
places  in  the  vicinity  of  the  banks  but  has  always  resulted 
4  V. 


50  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


unsuccessfully.  At  some  places  no  trace  of  the  coal  could 
be  found,  and  at  others  it  was  but  a  few  inches  thick. 

The  total  thickness  of  the  bed  in  the  banks  does  not  vary 
more  than  three  or  four  inches  either  above  or  below  four 
feet.  The  following  generalized  description  of  the  bed  was 
furnished  by  the  man  in  charge  of  the  banks  : 

Ileclc  and  Eagle  Coal  Banlcs.  .  ^ 

Slaty  shale  roof. 


Coal, . 1'  4"  to  1'  S" 

Slate,  . 0'  01"  to  O'  1" 

Coal, . O'  11"  to  V  2" 

Slate,  . 0  0  to  0  7" 

Coal, . O'  9"  to  V  G" 


The  coal  mines  in  good,  large  pieces,  but  after  lying  ex¬ 
posed  for  a  short  time,  that  portion  which  came  from  the 
upper  and  lower  benches,  soon  crumbles  into  small  frag¬ 
ments.  This  is  occasioned  by  disintegration  caused  by 
the  presence  of  thin  laminae  of  pyrites. 

A  small  quantity  of  coke  has  been  made  from  it  for  use 
in  the  foundry  at  Prospect.  Culled  lumps  are  used  and  the 
coke  made  is  of  very  fair  quality,  but  might  be  greatly  im¬ 
proved  by  crushing  the  coal  and  washing  out  the  sulphur 
preparatory  to  coking. 

In  the  absence  of  any  good  geological  horizon  from  which 
to  work,  it  is  impossible  to  correctly  place  this  coal  in  the 
series.  It  seems  most  probable  that  it  is  either  the  Upper 
Freeport  or  Millerstown  Coal  bed,  but  it  may  possibly  be  the 
Lower  Freeport  bed.  About  three  fourths  of  a  mile  east 
from  the  banks,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  below  them,  a 
bed  of  limestone  is  exposed  in  the  stream  bed.  This  is 
undoubtedly  either  the  Upper  or  Lower  Freeport  Lime¬ 
stone,  but  we  have  no  means  of  determining  its  dip  from 
the  place  at  which  it  is  exposed  to  the  coal  banks.  The 
same  stratum  is  found  on  Mr.  McBride’ s  farm  in  Franklin 
township,  a  short  distance  west  of  Unionville. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township,  in  a  gorge 
formed  by  a  branch  of  the  Connoquenessing  Creek,  there 
are  three  coal  banks  opened  on  a  bed  which  apparently  lies 
much  higher  than  the  Upper  Freeport  coal,  and  is  prob- 


CENTEE  township. 


Y.  51 


ably  either  the  Millestown  or  Brush  Creek  coal  bed.  About 
two  feet  of  rather  good  coal  is  visible  in  one  of  these  banks 
above  water  level  in  the  drain,  with  fireclay  beneath  it,  and 
a  rather  soft  slialy  roof.  No  coal  is  being  taken  from  this 
bed  at  present. 

On  Ream’s  Branch  of  the  Connoquenessing,  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  township,  several  banks  have  been  opened  on 
the  Upper  Kit  tanning  ( ? )  Coal  bed.  Those  owned  by  Mr. 
David  Birch  have  been  worked  for  many  years,  and  are 
now  a  long  distance  in  the  hill.  At  the  bank  owned  by 
Mr.  Ilenry  Leibold,  which  has  just  been  opened  and  is  very 
close  to  the  Birch  Banks,  the  coal  measures  : 

Leibold  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof : — 

Draw  slate, .  3" ' 


Coal, 

Slate, 

Coal, 


Coal 


Fireclay  floor. 

This  bed  yields  an  excellent  coal,  and  after  getting  under 
sufficient  cover,  mines  in  blocks  of  good  size. 

The  Freeport  Lower  coal  has  been  found  in  the  hills  on 
both  sides  of  the  stream.  It  is  said  to  be  about  two  feet 
thick,  and  is  overlaid  by  a  hard  massive  sandstone  which 
juts  out  in  rough  escarpments  on  both  sides  of  the  creek. 
This  coal  has  also  been  opened  on  the  Hillings’  farm.  Fig. 
24  shows  the  relative  position  of  these  two  coal  beds,  and 
the  overlying  sandrock. 

Kearns  branch  section.  V.24 

Freeport  Upper  Sandstone,  hard  and 


massive,  .  .  .  . 

Freeport  Lower  coal, 


15' 

2' 


Concealed,  .  .  .  . 

Kittanning  Upper  coal,  (?) 
Fireclay. 


(?)  90' 
.  3' 


2 


90 


F.C. 


UtilVERSlTY  OF  IU-IN01* 
UBRARX 


52  v. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


On  the  McCandless  Farm,  near  the  Butler  and  Sunbury 
road,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township,  a  well  was 
drilled  for  oil  about  four  or  five  years  ago.  No  information 
no  oil  was  obtained.  The  well  mouth  is  about  ten  feet 
could  be  gathered  concerning  it,  further  than  the  fact  that 
above  water  level,  and  is  near  the  base  of  the  Freeport 
Sandstone.  The  limestone  therefore  should  have  been  found 
at  from  100  to  150  feet  and  the  Butler  “  Third  sand ' ’  at 
1300  to  1350  feet. 


In  the  hill  above  the  McCandless  well,  the  rocks  shown 
in  Fig.  25,  were  measured  : 


McCandless  farm  section. 


Coal  blossom,  ....  thin. 

Concealed,  . 20' 

Hard  massive  Sandstone, . 15' 

Shale, . 30' 

Hard  massiv#  Sandstone, . 30' 

Well  mouth , . — 

Sandstone  to  water  level, . 10' 


V.25 


20 


~jlVcLler level  j 


The  coal  blossom  observed  near  the  hill-top  may  be  the 
Freeport  Upper  bed,  but  in  the  absence  of  any  auxiliary 
proof,  its  identification  is  extremely  uncertain. 


Oakland. 

%l+0.  OaJdand  Township. 

This  township  lies  east  of  Centre  and  north  of  Summit 
townships.  It  is  quite  poorly  supplied  with  coal,  as  the 
Upper  Freeport  sub-group,  from  which  we  should  expect 
a  good  supply,  has  a  very  poor  developement  within  its 
limits.  It  is  also  unfortunate  in  being — so  far  as  is  known  at 
present — barren  of  any  oil  producing  territory.  The  ‘  ‘Fourth 
Sand”  oil  belt  just  reaches  its  northern  line,  but  does  not 
cross  over  into  the  township,  and  the  Millerstown  and  St. 
Joe  “Third  Sand  Belt”  just  skirts  its  eastern  boundary  line. 

Many  wells  have  been  drilled  in  this  township  south  and 
southwest  from  Greece  City  in  search  of  a  prolongation 


OAKLAND  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  53 


southward  of  the  “Fourth  Sand  Cross  Belt,”  but  these  have 
all  resulted  unsuccessfully.  In  some  places  an  excellent 
sand  of  good  thickness  is  reported  to  have  been  found,  but 
no  oil  in  paying  quantities  has  ever  been  been  obtained 


from  it. 

The  section  shown  in  Figure  26  was  compiled  partly  from 
exposures  on  KeariTs  Branch  south  of  Boydstown,  and 
partly  from  data  collected  on  the  road  from  V.26 

Boydstown  to  Sunbury. 

Boydstown  Section . 

Freeport  Upper  Coal, .  3' 

Concealed, . 40/ 

Local  Coal  (L.  F.  C.  ?) .  2' 

Sandstone — Freeport  Upper  ?  .  .  .  15' 

Freeport  Lower  Coal  (local  bed  ?)  .  .  thin. 

Concealed,  about . 90' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, .  3" 


The  Freeport  Upper  Coal  is  opened  on  the  place  of  Mr. 
Jacob  Eider,  close  to  the  Concord  township  line.  The 
original  opening  has  been  shut  for  some  time  past,  and  Mr. 
Eider  has  just  opened  a  new  bank  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  run.  He  says  that  the  bed  consists  of,  (See  Fig.  27.) 

Rider  coal  bank. 

Shaly  slate  roof — very  poor. 

Coal, . V  5"  ) 

Slate,  . O'  2"  3'  l7 

Coal,  . I  6"  ) 

Fireclay  and  slate  floor. 

This  bed  yields  a  coal  of  fair  quality,  but  it  mines  in 
rather  small  pieces.  In  the  bottom  of  the  hollow  below  the 
bank,  the  Lower  Freeport  Coal  has  been  found,  but  it  is  too 
thin  to  be  of  any  value. 

The  bank  in  the  same  vicinity,  owned  by  Mr.  Whitmire, 
is  opened  on  a  coal  which  apparently  lies  between  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Freeport  beds,  but  which  may  possibly  be  the 
same  with  the  latter  coal  bed.  If  this  be  the  case,  then  the 
bed  changes  its  horizon  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  in  a  very  short 
distance.  In  Mr.  Whitmire’s  Bank  the  coal  is  of  fair  qual- 


54  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


ity,  but  ratlier  too  thin  for  profitable  mining.  The  bed 
measures  :  (See  Fig.  28.) 

Whitmire  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Soft  and  Slaty  Coal, . G" 

Coal, . 1'  2" 

Soft  parting, . thin. 

Coal,  . 6" 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  Millerstown  (?)  Coal  Bed,  which  occurs  in  the  hori¬ 
zon  of  the  Mahoning  Sandstone,  is  opened  in  a  bank  on  the 
Hutchinson  farm,  one  mile  southeast  from  Boydstown,  but 
the  opening  has  been  closed  for  some  time,  and  the  bed  could 
not  be  thoroughly  examined.  The  outcrop  coal  at  the 
mouth  of  the  entry  shows  about  two  and  a  half  feet  of  very 
fair  coal,  with  a  fracture  somewhat  resembling  that  of  a 
semi-cannel  bed.  It  is  quite  free  from  sulphur. 

The  Freeport  Upper  (?)  coal  has  quite  a  fair  local  devel¬ 
opment  in  the  same  neighborhood,  and  has  been  opened 
and  mined  on  Mr.  Monnie’s  place,  fifty  feet  vertically  below 
the  Hutchinson  bank.  It  is  possible  that  this  bed  maybe 
the  equivalent  of  the  Lower  Freeport  Coal,  in  which  case 
the  Hutchinson  coal  would  be  the  same  with  the  Upper 
Freeport  bed. 

The  Upper  Kittanning  coal  in  Oakland  T. 

On  Kearn’s  Branch  of  the  Connoquenessing  in  the  south¬ 
western  corner  of  the  township,  this  coal  has  been  opened 
and  worked  by  several  banks.  The  bed  is  tolerably  free 
from  sulphur,  is  of  fair  quality  and  measures  from  2'  10" 
to  3'  2"  in  thickness.  It  lies  at  waiter  level,  and  in  some 
instances  the  banks  upon  it  have  been  much  troubled  by 
flooding  during  high  water. 

For  quite  a  considerable  distance  along  the  creek,  the 
coal  keeps  above  water  leyel,  and  has  been  mined  quite 
largely,  but  most  of  the  banks  are  south  of  the  Oakland 
tovmsliip  line,  and  lie  in  the  district  reported  upon  by 
Prof.  White  in  his  Report  of  Progress,  Q. 


V.  28 


DONEGAL  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  55 


Donegal. 

§JL  Donegal  Township. 

This  is  the  most  easterly  township  of  the  first  tier,  lying 
east  from  Oakland  and  north  from  Clearfield  townships  ; 
and  adjoins  Armstrong  county  along  its  eastern  line. 

It  lies  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  great  divide  between  the 
Allegheny  and  Beaver  waters,  all  its  streams  being  tribu¬ 
tary  to  Buffalo  creek  or  its  branches. 

Oil  Territory. 

The  great  * ‘ Third  Sand  Oil  Belt”  runs  through  it  about 
S.  22°  W.  from  where  it  enters  the  township  north  of  Mil- 
lerstown,  to  St.  Joe  and  Carbon  Centre  [Thompson’s  Cor¬ 
ners],  and  has  yielded  a  large  amount  of  oil.  East  of  Mil- 
lerstown  a  short  distance,  is  the  celebrated  “ Eastern  Belt” 
which  probably  is  producing  its  oil  from  the  Fourth  Sand. 
It  seems  to  be  but  a  local  patch  of  productive  sand,  and 
cannot  be  traced  continuously  as  an  oil-bearing  rock,  either 
very  far  to  the  south  or  to  the  north  of  where  it  was  first 
discovered.  Along  the  Third  Sand  Belt,  the  Fourth  Sand 
is  characteristically  a  “gas  sand.”  The  Delameter  and 
Burn’s  gas  wells,  and  many  other  wells  in  the  same  lo¬ 
cality,  are  producing  their  gas  from  this  sandrock.  The 
Thompson  well  at  Carbon  Centre  also  found  its  gas  at  this 
horizon  in  a  good  pebbly  sand.  A  record  of  this  well  was 
kindly  furnished  me  by  Mr.  S.  McGara  of  Martinsburg, 
and  will  be  found  reprinted  from  Report  I.I,  in  Chap.  X 
this  report. 


§  Miller stown  Coal.  [Donegal  T.) 

As  the  name  of  this  bed  indicates,  it  is  found  in  typical 
development  at  and  around  Millerstown. 

It  occurs  from  295  to  315  feet  above  the  Ferriferous 
Limestone,  and  from  35  to  55  feet  above  the  Upper  Free¬ 
port  Coal  Bed. 

In  the  Mead  well  near  St.  Joe — see  Chap.  X — it  is  re¬ 
ported  at  300  feet  above  the  Limestone,  and  in  the  Jenkins 
well  near  Greece  City  in  Concord  township — see  Chap.  X — 


56  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


at  305  feet  above  the  same  stratum.  The  latter  well  also 
records  the  presence  of  the  Brush  Creek  Coal  bed. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Millerstown,  and  between  that  town 
and  Karns  City,  the  bed  is  mined  quite  largely  for  use  at 
the  wells,  and  usually  consists  of  two  benches  ;  the  upper 
one  being  poor,  slaty,  laminated  coal,  and  the  lower  one  of 
workable  quality. 

One  mile  west  of  town  two  banks  are  opened  upon  it,  a 
few  feet  below  railroad  level ;  it  measures :  V  2  9 

Karns  City  coal  banks. 

Slaty  coal  roof. 


Slaty  laminated  coal,  .  .  .  .  V  5" 

Coal — (seen,) . 2'  9" 


4'  2 


// 


In  some  parts  of  these  banks  the  bed  yields  quite  good 
coal,  but  it  is  generally  very  poor.  The  smut  of  the  Upper 
Freeport  bed  was  found  35  or  40  feet  below  the  banks, 
and  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  open  it,  but  the  bed 
proved  worthless. 

At  the  Forquer  Bank,  a  short  distance  south  of  Millers¬ 
town,  the  bed  shows  3'  6"  to  3'  9"  of  quite  good  coal,  and 
is  remarkably  free  from  slate  bands.  It  has  a  soft  shale 
roof,  which  is  in  such  bad  condition  that  the  bank  has 
nearly  fallen  shut.  The  bed  here  dips  to  the  north. 

About  half  a  mile  south  of  this  bank  the  Millerstown 
bed  is  again  opened  in  the  Conway  Bank,  where  it  con¬ 
sists  of  four  benches,  and  has  a  much  greater  thickness 
than  at  the  Forquer  opening.  Near  the  mouth  of  the 
entry  the  bed  exhibits  the  structure  shown  in  Fig.  30. 

C  onway  coat  bank. 

Slate  roof. 

Poor  coal,  .  .  . 

Slaty  coal,  .... 

Coal, . 

Soft  parting,  .  .  . 

Coal,  (good,)  .  .  . 

Slate,  . 

Coal,  (fair,)  .  .  . 

Most  of  the  coal  mined  from  this  bank  is  taken  from  the 
two  lower  benches,  and  is  of  very  fair  character.  This  bank 


DONEGAL  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  57 


is  much  higher  than  the  Forquer  Bank,  showing  that  be¬ 
tween  the  two  openings  the  coal  has  a  north  dip. 

The  Freeport  Upper  Coal  is  a  very  poor  bed  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  this  township,  and  can  never  be  looked  to  for  a 
supply  of  good  fuel.  It  has  been  opened  at  several  places 
in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  township,  but  is  always 
quite  thin  and  of  miserable  quality. 

Mr.  George  Rogers  has  a  bank  opened  upon  this  bed, 
which  is  worked  at  intervals.  The  bed  here  yields  better 
coal  than  can  be  expected  from  it  in  other  localities. 

On  both  branches  of  Buffalo  creek  the  Upper  Freeport 
sandstone  is  a  hard  massive  rock,  outcroping  boldly  along 
the  streams,  and  covering  the  surface  in  some  places  with 
mai\y  large  irregularly  shaped  blocks.  It  locally  shows  a 
strong  dip  to  the  south-west,  sometimes  amounting  to  thirty 
feet  in  half  a  mile,  which  soon  carries  it  down  into  the 
Bradys  Bend  synclinal  axis,  which  crosses  the  south-eastern 
corner  of  the  township,  near  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  Rogers. 

Near  Mr.  O’Brien’s  house,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
township,  a  bank  has  been  opened  on  the  Upper  Freeport 
bed,  but  the  coal  is  so  poor  that  it  hardly  pays  for  the  dig¬ 
ging,  and  little  is  now  mined.  It  is  very  variable  in  thick¬ 
ness,  but  the  following  measurement,  shown  in  Fig.  31, 
will  give  a  good  idea  of  its  structure : 

O’  Brieih  s  coal  bank. 

Slaty  shale  roof. 

Laminated  coal, . V  2" 

Good  coal, .  7"  4/  0 

Slaty  fireclay,  , .  7"  j 

Coal,  poor,  (seen,) . 2' 2"  J 

One  mile  south  from  this  bank  the  bed  consists  of  an 
utterly  worthless  mixture  of  slate  and  slaty  coal. 


§  JJ.  Miller stoion  Anticlinal.  (Donegal  T.) 

This  anticlinal  roll  crosses  the  township  in  a  line  probably 
parallel  to  the  Bradys  Bend  Synclinal  Axis,  passing  a  short 
distance  south-east  of  Millerstown,  and  crossing  the  “Third 
Sand  Oil  Belt,”  near  the  Diviner  Farm. 


58  Y. 


REP  OUT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Its  north  dip  amounts  to  about  forty  feet,  and  extends 
nortli-west  and  south-east  a  distance  of  about  three  fourths 
of  a  mile.  It  is  shown  both  by  oil  well  records  and  eleva¬ 
tions,  and  by  the  dip  of  the  coal  beds  in  the  vicinity  of 
Millerstown. 


Chapter  VII. 

§  44.  Second  tier  of  Townships. 

This  tier,  comprising  Worth,  Brady,  Clay,  Concord,  and 
Fairview  lies  next  north  of  those  described  in  Chapter  VI. 

The  formations  outcroping  in  this  tier  of  townships,  in¬ 
clude  the  rocks  of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  series  from 
the  Mahoning  sandstone  down  to  the  top  of  No.  Nil — the 
Homewood  Sandstone. 

The  latter  rock  is  above  water  level  only  in  the  valley 
of  the  Slippery  Pock,  no  other  stream  cutting  deep  enough 
to  expose  it. 

The  Kittanning  Group  occupies  the  hillsides,  and  pre¬ 
sents  at  almost  every  locality  one  or  two  good  beds  of  coal 
of  workable  size.  The  Lower  Kittanning  Coal  and  Ferri¬ 
ferous  Limestone  are  only  found  above  water  level  in  W orth 
and  Brady  townships.  The  former  is  but  seldom  thick 
enough  to  be  mined,  and  is  often  difficult  to  find.  Though 
the  Ferriferous  Limestone  underlies  a  large  area  in  these 
two  townships,  it  is  not  often  exposed,  and  little  of  it  has 
ever  been  quarried  or  burnt. 

The  Middle  and  Upper  Kittanning  coal  beds  are  presistent 
as  workable  beds  over  quite  a  large  area,  and  nearly  always 
yield  a  gas  coal  of  excellent  quality,  often  quite  free  from 
pyrites. 

The  Freeport  Group  of  coal  and  limestone  is  caught  in 
all  the  high  land,  but  only  contains  workable  beds  in  a 
few  isolated  patches,  where  it  has  a  good  local  develope- 
ment.  Its  best  representation  is  found  at  Sunbury,  where 
both  the  coals  of  this  Group  are  workable  beds. 

Worth. 

Worth  Township. 

This  township  adjoins  Lawrence  county  on  the  west,  and 
lies  north  of  Muddy  Creek  township.  In  its  northern  por- 

(59) 


60  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CIIAXCE. 


tion  is  the  broad,  gentle  valley  of  the  Slippery  Rock,  the 
south  side  of  which  rises  quite  gradually  until  the  summit 
is  reached.  Muddy  Creek  Valley  is  a  much  sharper  cut, 
with  its  north  slopes  often  very  steep,  but  contains  broad 
bottom  lands  in  the  creek  bottom. 

The  Freeport  Group  which  is  found  in  the  high  lands  of 
the  divide  between  these  two  streams,  is  of  little  value ; 
but  the  Kit  tanning  Group  carries  coal  beds  which  insure, 
for  many  years  to  come,  a  bountiful  supply  of  excellent 
fuel. 

By  reference  to  the  contoured  map  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone  is  accessible  over  a  large  area  in  this 


township.  Its  outcrdp  in  the  northern  xiart  of  the  town¬ 
ship,  usually  occurs  on  ground  where  the  side  slopes  are 
quite  gentle,  enabling  one  to  quarry  a  large  amount  of  the 
stone  by  removing  but  little  surface  earth.  Its  horizon  is, 
however,  often  quite  difficult  to  find,  as  there  are,  in  that 
part  of  the  township,  frequent  beds  of  drift,  which  obscure 
the  topographical  evidences  of  its  presence. 

Iron  Bridge  Section. 

Sandstone  (top  exposed,)  “say,’1  .  .  .10' 

Concealed — with  thin  coal ,  .  .  .  .60' 

Sandstone  hard  and  gray, . 10' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, . absent. 

Concealed,  . 40' 

Coal — Kittanning  Middle, . 3'  > 

Fireclay, . )  lg, 


(about)  15' 
....  10' 
(about)  V 


Concealed, 

Coarse  massive  Sandstone 
Concealed,  .... 

Coal — Kittanning  Lower, 

Fireclay, . .  (about)  5' 

Concealed,  . 40' 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  . . 15' 

Coal, .  ...  reported. 

Sandy  shale,  . . 5' 

Sandstone,  micaceous  to  level  of  Muddy 
Creek,  . 10' 


V.32 


-> — t — IIP 


60 


40 


IS 


-n 


40 


The  section  shown  in  Fig.  32,  was  compiled  from  ex- 

% 


WORTH. 


Y.  61 


posures  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  on  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  road  running  north  from  the  Iron  Bridge  over 
Muddy  Creek.  It  compares  very  satisfactorally  with  the 
one  compiled  south  of  Muddy  Creek,  on  the  road  to  Por¬ 
ters  ville.  [See  Fig.  5.] 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  exposed  at  the  Iron  Bridge 
on  Muddy  Creek  in  a  number  of  quarries  to  which  reference 
has  already  been  made  in  the  description  of  Muddy  Creek 
township.  It  is  of  bluish  gray  color,  yielding  a  very  fair 
lime,  and  is  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  thick.  From  this 
point  westward  to  Shaw’s,  it  is  constantly  accessible,  lying 
but  a  few  feet  above  water  level. 

The  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  bed  was  seen  outcroping  on 
the  road  a  short  distance  north  of  the  creek,  but  the  bed  is 
too  thin  to  be  of  much  value.  It  lies  about  forty-live  feet 
above  the  Limestone. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  bed  has  a  thickness  of  about  three 
feet  in  this  locality,  but  the  Upper  Kittanning  bed  could 
not  be  detected.  It  is  probably  absent,  but  may  be  repre¬ 
sented  by  a  very  thin  seam  which  has  escaped  observation. 
The  former  bed  is  opened  at  a  large  number  of  banks  north 
of  Muddy  Creek.  Near  the  creek,  the  bed  ranges  from  2' 
9"  to  3'  0 "  in  thickness  and  is  of  fair  quality,  but  going 
northward  from  the  stream,  it  swells  to  a  size  of  3;  9"  to  3' 
6//,  and  improves  as  much  in  quality  as  it  does  in  thickness. 

At  the  old  Pisor  Bank  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
township  this  bed  (Middle  Kittanning)  is  said  to  measure 
3/  6//,  but  only  3  feet  of  it  'yielded  a  marketable  coal.  In 
the  bank  on  the  Widow  Yogan  farm,  north  from  the  latter 
opening,  the  coal  measures  three  feet  and  is  all  of  good 
quality. 

In  an  old  bank  owned  by  Mr.  William  Hockenberry, 
a  “horseback”  is  said  to  completely  cut  the  coal  oh.  This 
is  a  very  unusual  feature  for  this  bed  to  show,  it  being  gen¬ 
erally  quite  free  from  such  irregularities. 

At  the  opening  on  Mr.  John  Book’s  place,  a  mile  and  a 
half  north  from  the  Iron  Bridge,  it  measures,  (Fig.  33.) 

The  bed  is  tolerably  free  from  sulphur  and  is  of  good 
quality  throughout  the  bank.  It  is  also  opened  and  worked 


62  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


in  the  same  locality  by  the  Drorbough,  Campbell  and  Stude- 
baker  Banks,  in  which  the  coal  ranges  from  2'  6"  to  3'  Q>". 

Boole's  coal  banlc. 

Slaty  slate  roof. 

Soft  poor  coal,  . 6' 

Coal, — one  thin  parting, . 3'  0" 

Fireclay  floor. 

At  the  last  named  bank,  it  is  of  exceptionally  good  quality, 
contains  but  little  sulphur  and  mines  in  good  hard  blocks 
of  large  size.  It  usually  consists  of  three  benches,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  34. 

Stud  choicer  coal  bank.  ( Kitt .  Mid.  Coal.) 


Coal, . 

...  .  V  2  " 

Slate . 

...  2  " 

Coal, . 

.  .  .  1'  G  " 

Soft  parting,  .  . 

• 

JL" 

Coal, . 

...  6  " 

Fireclay  (seen),  . 

.  .  .  3'  0  " 

Mr.  McCreath  has  made  an  analysis  of  a  specimen  taken 
from  the  middle  bench  of  this  bed  [Middle  Kittanning] 


with  the  following  result : 

Water, . 2.270 

Volatile  matter, . - .  40.990 

Fixed  carbon, .  46.794 

Sulphur, . 1.871 

Ash,  (grey,) . .  .  .  .  8.075 

100.00 


Coke,  per  cent., .  56.740 

McCracken  Coal  Bed. 


V.3S 


Slaty  shale  roof. 

Coal,  . .  .  . 

.  .  V  3"  1 

Slate . 

.  .  .  1"  to  2" 

Coal, . 

...  V  6" 

Soft  parting, . 

.  .  .  i"  to  1" 

Coal, . 

.  .  .  O' 6" 

Fireclay  floor. 

• 

3'  5" 


F.C 


A  short  distance  north  from  the  Studebaker  bank,  the 


WORTH. 


Y.  63 


\ 


same  bed  is  opened  by  Mr.  McCraken  where  the  coal 
measures:  [See  Fig.  35.] 

This  measurement  shows  a  remarkable  agreement  with 
the  preceding  one  ;  the  coal  also  is  very  similar  to  that  in 
the  Studebaker  opening.  The  bed  here  lies  from  75  to  80 
feet  above  the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  the  outcrox>  of  which 
may  be  seen  at  several  places  in  this  vicinity  near  stream 
level.  A  small  coal  bed  is  said  to  exist  immediately  be¬ 
neath  the  limestone,  but  I  did  not  see  any  exposure  of  it. 
A  short  distance  west  from  Mr.  McCraken' s  house,  in 
Lawrence  county,  this  bed  has  been  opened  and  mined, 
and  measures  about  two  feet. 


§  Jf6.  Harrisville  Anticlinal ,  ( Worth  T. ) 

At  the  Studebaker  bank  the  coal  lies  about  fifteen  feet 
above  the  McCracken  opening,  proving  that  a  strong  north 
dip  pervades  the  measures  in  this  locality.  This  is  occa¬ 
sioned  by  the  Harrisville  anticlinal  axis  which  runs  through 
the  township  in  a  southwesterly  direction.  Its  crest  line 
passes  close  to  Meclianicsburg. 

The  north  dip  of  this  flexure  can  readily  be  detected  in 
the  limestone,  which  here  lies  thirty  feet  higher  than  at  the 
quarries  near  the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek,  and  in  a  small 
hollow  south  of  Black’s  Run  it  lies  over  fifty  feet  above 
the  same  quarries.  The  exposure  near  Black’s  Run  is 
probably  on,  or  very  close  to,  the  crest  of  the  anticlinal. 

In  simply  crossing  the  Slippery  Rock,  from  the  expos¬ 
ures  along  its  south  bank  to  the  quarries  at  Wolf  Creek, 
a  north  dip  of  thirty-five  feet  is  detected.  The  mouth  of 
Wolf  Creek  probably  lies  very  near  the  center  of  the  syn¬ 
clinal  trough. 

The  axis  is  also  seen  on  Slippery  Rock  Creek  between 
Eckert’s  Bridge  and  Rose  Point,  where  a  north  dip  is 
quite  noticeable  in  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  and  Con¬ 
glomerate. 

The  section  of  33S  feet  shown  in  Fig.  36,  was  compiled 
in  going  northward  from  Shaw’s  Bridge  over  Muddy  Creek, 
to  the  farm  of  Mr.  George  Yogan. 


64  v. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


20'  to  30' 
20' 


Shaw's  Bridge  Section. 

Mahoning  Sandstone,  liard  and 

massive,  in  summits, . 

Shale, . 

Coal,  Freeport  Upper,  reported  2J', 

Shale, . 

Sandstone,  hard  and  massive,  . 

Shale,  with  some  shaly  SS., 

Coal  blossom,  reported  li,  .  . 

Shale, . 

Sandstone,  hard  and  massive,  . 

Shale, . 

Kittanning  Middle  coal,  .  .  . 

Concealed,  (about)  .... 

Ferriferous  Limestone  at  Muddy 

Creek, . 

The  total  measurements  of  the  above  sec¬ 
tion  should  be  reduced  about  thirty  feet,  to 
eliminate  the  error  caused  by  the  south  dip 
of  the  rocks.  Most  of  this  correction  should 
be  thrown  orf  the  60  and  65  foot  intervals. 

Ko  trace  of  the  Upper  Freeport  Lime¬ 
stone  was  observed  ;  nor  have  I  found  any 
indications  of  it  in  any  other  part  of  the  township.  The 
smut  of  the  Upper  Freeport  coal  is  seen  near  the  road  sum¬ 
mits  in  several  places,  and  attempts  have  been  made  to 
mine  the  bed,  but  it  was  found  to  be  very  impure  and  thin ; 
and  in  the  presence  of  such  a  coal  as  the  Middle  Kit  tanning 
bed,  it  would  be  folly  to  persist  in  working  it. 

The  latter  bed  is  opened  and  worked  on  the  Wm,  Currie 
farm,  one  mile  and  a  half  north  from  the  old  Pisor  bank, 
where  the  coal  exhibits  the  structure  shown  in  Fig.  37. 
The  upper  bench  is  quite  slaty,  but  the  lower  bench  yields 
a  very  good  coal : 

Currie  Coal  Banlc. 

Slaty  shale  roof. 

Slaty  coal, .  V  5" 

Slate, . l"to  2" 

Coal, . .  V  6" 

Fireclay  door. 


V.37 


r.c 


HAREISVILLE  ANTICLINAL. 


Y.  65 


V 

3"  ' 

3" 

V 

6"  - 

9" 

V 

6"  J 

8" 

V.38 


§  Jfl.  The  Currie  Local  Coal  Bed. 

In  the  hill  above  the  bank  just  described,  and  eighty  feet 
over  it,  Mr.  Currie  has  opened  a  very  peculiar  bed  of  coal, 
which  measures  about  six  feet,  and  is  divided  into  four 
benches  as  shown  in  Fig.  38.  Search  has  been  made  for 
this  bed  on  many  other  farms  in  this  vicinity,  but  they  all 
failed  to  find  a  workable  bed  at  this  horizon.  On  the  Sut- 
lilr  farm  it  is  said  to  be  an  almost  worthless  mixture  of 
cannel  coal,  slate,  and  bituminous  coal,  with  slate  bands 
running  through  all  parts  of  the  bed 

Mr.  Currie’s  opening  on  the  bed  has  almost  fallen  shut, 
but  the  bed  can  still  be  seen,  and  measured. 

Currie  Local  Coal  Bed. 

Blue  slate  roof. 

Cannel  coal,  . V  3' 

Mixed  cannel  and  bituminous  coal,  3' 

Good  coal, . 1'  0"  5  3 

Fireclay, .  9' 

Coal, . 

Slate,  (reported)  .  8' 

Coal,  found  in  drain, . 

The  cannel  bench  is  only  of  medium  quality,  but  the  un¬ 
derlying  bituminous  coal  is  quite  free  from  pyrites,  and  is 
reported  to  be  an  excellent  smithing  coal.  Going  into  the 
drift  a  short  distance,  the  nine  inch  seam  of  fireclay  quickly 
thickens  to  eighteen  inches  and  becomes  quite  hard  and 
sandy.  The  bench  beneath  it  consequently  had  to  be 
abandoned,  as  it  did  not  pay  to  take  out  fifteen  or  eighteen 
inches  of  hard  material  to  recover  only  the  same  thickness 
of  coal.  The  drain  cuts  into  a  dark  slate  underlying  this 
lower  bench.  It  is  about  eight  inches  thick,  and  rests 
upon  another  bench  of  coal,  the  thickness  and  quality  of 
which  are  unknown. 

Currie  Vertical  Lection. 

This  bed  resembles  in  its  general  character  and  position, 
the  “Eiclienhaur  Local  Coal”  of  Report  Q,  page  122,  lying 
in  the  horizon  of  the  Freeport  Sandstone. 

The  section  shown  by  Fig.  39  will  serve  to  show  its  po- 

5  y. 


66  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


V.39 


20 


30 


80 


SB5BBKSB1 


80 


sition  with  reference  to  the  overlying  and 
underlying  strata. 

Currie  Section. 

Hard  Massive  [Mahoning]  Sand¬ 
stone,  . 10  to  20' 

Concealed, .  30' 

Coal — Freeport  Upper  Bed  (?)  .  .  blossom. 

Concealed, .  80' 

Currie’ s  Local  Coal,  .  6' 

Concealed, .  80' 

Kittanning  Middle  Bed,  ....  3' 

Concealed, . (about)  80' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, .  15' 

Its  place  in  the  series  is  seen  to  be  about 
forty  feet  above  the  Upper  Kittanning  Coal, 
and  about  thirty  feet  below  the  Lower  Free¬ 
port  bed,  but  neither  of  these  coals  are  ex¬ 
posed  in  the  vicinity  of  Mr.  Currie’ s  open¬ 
ing,  and  they  both  are  most  probably  very 
thin  worthless  beds  in  that  locality. 

Humphrey  Section. 

Coal  blossom  on  hill  [Lower  Free¬ 
port]  . O'  to  4' 

Concealed, .  100'dz 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal, .  3' 

Concealed  (about) . 80' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, .  20'  (?) 

Returning  from  Mr.  Currie’s  bank,  and 
going  northwest  along  the  hill,  the  above 
section  [See  Fig.  40]  was  compiled  from 
exposures  on  the  road  just' north  from  Mr. 

James  Humphrey’s  house.  Hear  the  hill¬ 
top  a  coal  blossom,  which  lies  at  about  the 
horizon  of  the  Lower  Freeport  Bed,  is  seen 
at  several  places  on  the  road.  It  has  been 
pretty  thoroughly  tested  by  a  number  of  diggings  and 
proves  quite  variable  in  thickness,  in  some  places  measuring 
four  feet,  and  in  others  being  represented  by  a  very  few 
inches  of  bituminous  slate. 


V  40 


noa 


so 


tttttttI 


CURRIE  LOCAL  COAL  BED. 


V.  67 


On  the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  Porter  Davis,  adjoining  Mr. 
Humphrey’s  place,  a  bank  is  opened  and  worked  in  the  hol¬ 
low  near  the  school-house.  This  is  the  Middle  Kittanning 
bed,  and  measures  [Fig.  41.] 

Dams  Coal  Banlz. 

Shale  roof. 

Slaty  Coal, . V  0"  \ 

Slate, .  1"  >  3'  3  7 

Coal, . 2'  2"  J 

The  coal  is  rather  too  pyritous  to  give  satisfaction,  but 
does  very  well  for  local  use. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  was  passed  through  in  drilling 
a  water  well  one  half  mile  north  from  Mr.  Humphrey’s, 
and  is  reported  to  be  about  twenty  feet  thick,  but  as  this  is 
quite  an  unusual  thickness  for  this  stratum  in  western  But¬ 
ler,  it  seems  probable  that  the  measurements  were  imper¬ 
fectly  made.  It  is  exposed  in  nearly  all  of  the  hollows 
that  run  back  between  the  hills  on  the  south  side  of  Black’ s 
Hun,  but  has  not  been  quarried  much,  and  there  are  no 
exposures  showing  its  total  thickness.  In  the  ravine,  a 
short  distance  northeast  from  Mr.  Humphrey’s,  there  is  a 
quarry  which  has  been  in  operation  for  several  years,  but 
though  it  has  been  worked  for  a  long  period  a  compara¬ 
tively  small  amount  of  the  stone  has  been  quarried. 


V.4I 


§  J/.S.  Clarion  Groujp ,  ( Worth  T.) 

There  are  few  good  exposures  of  the  strata  underlying 
the  Ferriferous  Limestone  in  this  township.  Fragmentary 
sections  may  be  obtained  at  several  places  on  Slippery  Hock 
Creek,  but  complete  exposures  are  rare.  The  following 
sections  of  this  group,  and  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Con¬ 
glomerate  or  Beaver  Hiver  series,  were  made  in  August, 
1S75,  from  exposures  on  Slippery  Hock  Creek.  Most  of 
them  are  in  Lawrence  county,  but  are  here  given  to  show 
the  character  of  these  rocks,  and  to  connect  this  report  in  a 
general  way  with  Prof.  J.  P.  Lesley’s  “  Slippery  Hock  Re¬ 
port,”  published  in  volume  UJ,”  1875. 

At  Seceder’s  or  Eckert’s  bridge,  three  miles  west  of  Por- 


68  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

tersville,  Slippery  Rock  Creek  flows  at  tlie  bottom  of  a 
deep  canyon  like  gorge,  flanked  on  botli  sides  by  almost 
vertical  escarpments  of  tlie  Homewood  and 
Connoquenessing  sandstones.  These  two 
rocks  apparently  form  a  solid  mass  of  sand¬ 
stone,  104  feet  thick,  but  Mr.  White  in¬ 
forms  me  that  he  has  found  a  thin  seam 
of  slate  or  shale  parting  them  near  the  mid¬ 
dle. 

The  section  shown  in  Fig.  42,  was  copied 
from  exposures  in  this  vicinity : 

Section  at  Seceder  Bridge. 


Kittanning  Middle  Coal, . .  .  8' 

Shale, . 70' 

Ore, .  V 

Ferriferous  Limestone, .  6' 

Coal,  (Scrubgrass.) . — 

Shale,  partly  concealed, . 55' 

Homewood  SS., . \ 

Mercer  shale,  (thin,) . >104' 

Upper  Connoquenessing,  SS.,  .  .  .  ) 
Shale  to  creek  level,  . 55' 


Keitlier  the  Brookville  or  Clarion  coal  beds  were  de¬ 
tected,  but  the  Scrubgrass  coal  is  represented  by  a  very 
thin  seam  occurring  immediately  beneath  the  Ferriferous 
Limestone.  The  latter  rock  here  carries  a  layer  of  ore 
about  one  foot  thick,  from  which  a  small  quantity  has  been 
stripped  for  use  in  the  old  furnace  at  Rose  Point. 

At  Forest  Mills  the  latter  rock  is  well  exposed  at  Kildoo's 
quarry,  where  it  measures  about  18  feet,  and  has  been  quar¬ 
ried  and  burnt  for  a  long  period.  The  Connoquenessing 
Sandstone  is  here  almost  entirely  replaced  by  shale.  The 
measurements  shown  in  section  43  were  made  in  this  vicin¬ 
ity,  and  fail  to  show  the  presence  of  either  the  Brookville 
or  Clarion  Coal  beds. 

The  lower  part  of  the  preceding  section  was  obtained  from 
exposures  along  the  creek  bank,  about  one  mile  north  of 
Forest  mills. 


CLARION  GROUP. 


V.  69 


‘  Section  at  Forest  Mills. 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 18' 

Shale, . 48' 

Homewood  Sandstone,  . 35' 

Tliin  coal  seam,  (Mercer  S) . — 

Shale,  with  sandstone  on  base,  .  .  .59' 

Coal, . O' 4" 

Olive  shale, . .  8' 

Blue  slialy  slate, . 6' 

Coal, . O' 9" 

Shale  to  water  level  in  dam,  .  .  .  .25' 


Going  northward  up  the  valley  towards 
Rose  Point,  [Williereux  P.  O.,]  the  Home- 
wood  Sandstone  gradually  sinks  lower  and 
lower  beneath  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  until  there  is 
an  interval  of  75  feet  between  them.  The  section  shown  in 
Fig.  44  was  obtained  at  the  latter  place : 

Rose  Point  Section. 

Ore, . variable. 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  .  .  .  15'  to  2d 
Scrubgrass  Coal,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  6"  to  V 

Blue  slate  and  shale, .  75' 

Homewood  S.  S.  conglomerate,  20'  to  25' 

Blue  slate, . . O'  to  2' 

Coal,  (Mercer  Group,) .  V  6" 


V.44 


§  Jj-9.  Mercer  Coal  Bed ,  ( Worth  T.) 

The  coal  shown  at  the  bottom  of  the  above  section  belongs 
to  the  Mercer  Group  of  Interconglomerate  coal  beds.  The 
limestone  which  usually  accompanies  these  beds  in  Mercer 
and  Lawrence  counties  is  absent,  but  may  be  represented 
by  a  band  of  calcareous  iron  ore  that  underlies  the  coal. 
The  blue  slate  that  overlies  the  coal  also  contains  some 
iron  ore,  in  nodules,  but  it  is  not  a  persistent  layer,  and  ap- 
parently  exists  only  in  “pots.” 

The  following  sections  were  made  on  the  creek  between 
Rose  Point  and  the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek,  and  will  serve 
to  illustrate  the  character  of  the  measures  lying  between 


70  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


-.ka 


3(y 


V.  45 

7^?23\ 


2 


V.46 


the  Ferriferous  Limestone  and  creek  level.  They  need  no 
further  discussion. 

Section  at  Kennedy' s  Mills . — Fig.  45. 

Homewood  Sandstone,  coarse  and  con¬ 
glomeratic,  . 25' 

(Coal  Mercer,) . 2' 

Ore  (Mercer  Limestone,) . 1' 

Blue  slate  about,  .  .  .  . . 25'  ] 

SS.  thin  bedded  to  water  level,  .  .  .  5'  j 
Section  at  McCraken' s  Bridge. — 

Fig.  40. 

Ferriferous  Limestone  (about)  ...  20' 

Slate,  .  44' 

Sandstone — in  quarry, .  12' 

Concealed, .  32' 

Sandstone  fine  grained, .  10' 

Coal  seam, . thin. 

Slate  to  water  level, .  10' 

Section  at  Elliott's  Bridge  [Bed 
Bridge  f] — Fig.  47. 

Coal — Lower  Kittanning,  (?) . 3' 

Concealed,  . 21' 

Ore,  . 2' 

Ferriferous  limestone, . 10' 

Slate— -partly  concealed, . 56' 

Homewood  SS.  to  water  level,  ....  4! 


The  next  section  on  Slippery  Hock  Creek  was  constructed 
from  exposures  near  the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek  in  Worth 
township.  The  Ferriferous  limestone  is  laid  bare  by  sev¬ 
eral  quarries  in  that  neighborhood,  and  is  also  seen  at  a 
number  of  outcrops  along  the  roads  leading  to  the  bridges 
over  Wolf  and  Slippery  Hock  Creeks.  It  here  wears  its 
usual  character,  but  carries  little  or  no  iron  ore.  The  meas¬ 
urements  made  in  this  locality  are  shown  in  Fig.  48. 

The  Scrubgrass  coal  bed  has  frequently  been  dug  into 
in  this  vicinity,  but  was  never  found  thicker  than  fifteen 
inches,  and,  though  it  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  coal,  is  of 
course  too  thin  to  mine. 


BRADY  TOWNSniP. 


V\  71 


Section  at  Mouth  of  Wolf  Creek. 


Shale. 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 10' 

Coal  (reported  15") . V 

Concealed,  . 37 ' 


Homewood  Sandstone,  at  bridge,  .  .  .10' 


V.48 


11.1111  IL 

m 

i 

2 

• 

37 

“X-  •/  r( 


§  50.  Brady  Toionship. 

This  township  lies  east  of  Worth  and  north  of  Franklin 
township.  Through  its  southern  part  sweeps  the  Muddy 
Creek  and  Slippery  Hock  Divide,  with  summits  ranging 
from  275  to  350  feet  above  stream  level ;  but  the  northeast¬ 
ern  portion  of  the  township  is  gently  undulating  with 
summits  seldom  more  than  125  feet  above  Slippery  Hock 
creek. 

Its  high  lands  are  capped  by  the  Mahoning  Sandstone, 
beneath  which  occurs  the  Freeport  Group.  The  latter  is 
poorly  represented,  and  is  almost  worthless,  though  both 
its  coals  are  found  in  some  localities. 

The  Kittanning  group  outcrops  on  all  the  hillsides,  and 
furnishes  two  good  coals  of  workable  size,  viz. :  the  Upper 
and  Middle  Kittanning  beds.  The  former  has  its  area  of 
best  development  in  the  northern  and  eastern  parts  of  the 
township,  but  the  last  named  coal  is  available,  as  a  work¬ 
able  bed,  only  in  the  south-western  portion. 

In  the  country  bordering  Slippery  Hock  creek,  the  Fer¬ 
riferous  Limestone  is  constantly  accessible,  but  has  not  been 
quarried  much.  This  is  probably  partly  owing  to  the  diffi¬ 
culty  of  finding  its  outcrop  in  a  favorable  position,  and  in 
good  condition  for  quarrying ;  the  erosion  being  so  smooth 
and  the  hill  slopes  so  gradual,  that  a  large  amount  of  sur¬ 
face  would  generally  have  to  be  removed  before  solid  lime¬ 
stone  could  be  reached. 

Along  the  low  lands  of  the  creek  valley,  the  Homewood 
Sandstone  is  sometimes  laid  bare,  and  is  occasionally  suit¬ 
able  for  building  purposes. 

In  going  south-east  from  West  Liberty,  on  the  road  to 
Prospect,  the  first  coal  opening  is  on  the  Kittanning  Middle 


72  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


bed.  The  bank  is  now  shut,  and  no  measurement  of  the 
coal  can  be  made ;  but  I  am  informed  that  it  is  about  three 
feet  thick.  A  short  distance  beyond  this  entry,  the  section 
shown  in  Fig.  49  was  compiled. 

West  Liberty  Section. 

Tliin-bedded  Sandstone,  shaly,  (Free- 

port,) . 

Coal,  poor,  (Currie  Local  Coal*) 

Thin  bedded  shaly  sand 

Free¬ 
port, 


r 


stone, . 10' 

Hard  SS.,  some  massive 

layers, . 25'^ 

Kittanning  Upper  coal,  blossom 

Concealed . 

Kittanning  Middle  coal,  .... 


V 


35' 


V.49 


V 

40' 

3' 


40 


The  blossoms  of  both  the  Upper  Kittanning  and  “Currie” 
(Local)  coal  beds  are  exposed  on  the  road,  but,  from  their 
size  and  character,  indicate  that  these  beds  are  rather  thin, 
and  too  slaty  to  be  valuable.  The  latter  bed  is  enclosed  in 
the  Freeport  Sandstone,  which  is  quite  a  prominent  sand- 
rock  in  this  part  of  the  township. 

About  one  mile  south-east  from  where  the  preceding  ex¬ 
posures  were  observed,  the  Middle  Kittanning  coal  is  opened 
by  Mr.  J.  P.  Martin,  at  whose  bank  the  bed  measures :  [See 
Fig.  50.] 

Martin  Coal  Bank. 


Shale  roof. 

Slaty  coal, .  7"  )  q„ 

Coal, . 2'  2"  1 

Though  this  bank  has  been  worked  at  intervals  for  a  long 
time,  comparatively  little  coal  has  been  extracted  from  it. 
A  thin  seam  of  slate  occasionally  traverses  the  coal  near  the 
middle  of  the  bed.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  dividing 
ridge,  and  about  one  mile  farther  south,  is  the  Lutz  bank, 
at  which  the  same  bed  is  opened.  It  exhibits  the  structure 
shown  in  Fig.  51. 

On  the  D.  Graham  farm,  adjoining  the  place  owned  by 
Mr.  Lutz,  there  is  another  bank  in  running  order  upon  the 


V.50 


KITTANNING-  MIDDLE  COAL. 


V.  73 


same  bed,  wliicb.  there  lies  very  nearly  at  water  level.  As 
these  banks  have  been  worked  almost  exclusively  to  sup¬ 
ply  the  wants  of  the  owners,  and  of  parties  living  in  their 
immediate  vicinity,  very  little  coal  has  been  taken  from 
them. 

Lutz  Goal  Bank. 

Slate  roof. 

Slaty  coal, . O'  4" ) 

Coal, . V  G"  i 

Sulphur  band  and  bone, . O'  2" 

Coal, . V  0\ 

Fireclay  floor. 

This  bed  (Kittanning  Middle)  is  being  steadily  worked 
at  the  bank  owned  by  Mr.  William  Davis,  in  the  south¬ 
western  corner  of  the  township.  It  is  rather  too  pyri tous 
to  be  of  good  quality,  but  is  very  free  from  slate  or  bone, 
and  measures  :  [See  Fig.  52.] 

Davis  Coal  Bank. 


3'  0 


F-C. 


Shale  roof. 
Slaty  coal, 
Coal,  .  . 


Mr.  Bryan  has  also  opened  a  bank  on  this  bed,  a  short 
distance  from  the  Davis  bank,  in  which  the  coal  is  of* 
similar  character  and  thickness.  In  his  bank  the  upper 
bench  of  slaty  coal  thickens  from  three  to  six  inches,  and 
can  be  left  in  the  bank  as  a  roof.  The  coal  is  said  to  be 
three  feet  thick  at  the  old  saw  mill  on  Muddy  creek,  near 
Mr.  Weitzel’s  house.  The  bed  there  lies  nearly  at  creek 
level,  and  was  opened  and  worked  quite  largely  many  years 
ago,  but  the  bank  has  long  been  closed,  and  no  examination 
of  the  bed  was  possible. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  coal  is  also  opened  and  mined  in 
the  western  part  of  the  township,  one  mile  south  from 
West  Liberty,  by  two  banks  on, the  adjoining  farms  owned 
by  Messrs.  J.  and  T.  Badger.  At  the  opening  owned  by 
Mr.  J.  Badger,  on  the  west  side  of  the  hollow,  it  measures 
about  three  feet  and  two  inches,  with  a  two  inch  seam  of 
draw- slate  on  top.  About  one  foot  of  the  uppermost  part 
is  rather  slaty,  but  the  remainder  of  the  bed  is  good  coal. 


74  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  IE  M.  CHANCE. 


A  thin  parting  of  slate  is  occasionally  seen  about  ten  inches 
above  the  fire-clay,  but  it  is  not  a  persistent  band. 

In  the  hill  above  these  banks,  an  entry  has  been  driven 
in  on  a  very  impure  bed  of  cannel  coal,  from  five  to  seven 
feet  thick,  full  of  slialy  slate,  and  alternating  laminae  of 
slate  and  cannel  coal.  In  fact  the  bed  may  be  described  as 
a  worthless  mixture  of  slialy  slate,  slate,  and  slaty  cannel 
coal,  and  is  one  of  those  local  deposits  that  may  occur  at 
any  horizon  in  the  coal  measures. 


§  51.  Kittanning  Upper  Coat ,  ( Brady  T.) 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Stone  Ilouse,  on  the  old  Pitts¬ 
burg  pike,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  township,  this 
is  quite  a  valuable  seam,  and  has  been  opened  and  worked 
at  a  large  number  of  banks,  many  of  which  are  still  in 
running  order.  The  Middle  Kittanning  coal  outcrops  on 
the  road  about  fifty  feet  beneath  it,  and  is  apparently  three 
feet  thick,  but  has  not  yet  been  opened  in  this  locality. 

In  going  southward  along  the  Pike  from  Stone  House  to 


10' 


2'  to 


of 


the  summit,  a  distance  of  one  mile,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  section — shown  in  Fig.  53 — was  com¬ 
piled  from  exposures  in  the  road  bed. 
Stone  Ilouse  Section. 

Shale  on  summit . 

Freeport  Upper  Coal — blossom, 

Fireclay, . 

Shale, — Sandstone  near  bottom, 

Freeport  Lower  Coal — blossom, 

Concealed — with  massive  SS 
Sandstone, — hard  and  massive, 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal,  .  .  . 

Concealed — mostly  shale,  . 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .  .  . 

Concealed,  . 10' 

Ore  band, . — 

Concealed,  . 55' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 


V.  53 


5' 

55' 

2' 

45' 

15' 

3' 

55'  (?) 
3' 

65' 


t r 

TV 


?  55 


65 


The  Freeport  Upper  and  Lower  Coal  beds,  separated  by 


KITTANNING  UPPElt  COAL. 


Y.  75 


about  sixty  feet  of  shaly  measures,,  outcrop  near  the  summit, 
but  are  hardly  of  workable  size.  No  trace  was  seen  of 
either  of  their  accompanying  beds  of  limestone.  About 
sixty  feet  beneath  the  Lower  Freeport  Coal,  there  are  two 
old  openings  on  the  Kittanning  Upper  Coal  Bed.  These 
have  long  since  fallen  shut,  and  nothing  can  now  be  seen 
except  some  old  coal  on  the  dump  heaps.  A  hard  massive 
sandrock — Freeport  sandstone — fifteen  feet  thick  rests 
directly  on  the  coal,  forming  its  roof  in  these  banks. 

In  the  hollow  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  several  imperfect 
outcrops  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  are  visible.  It  lies 
about  120  or  125  feet  below  the  Kittanning  Upper  coal  bed, 
and  from  65  to  75  feet  below  the  horizon  of  the  Middle 
Kittanning  coal,  which  outcrops  near  the  cross  roads  at 
Stone  House. 

The  principal  banks  now  in  running  order,  on  the  Upper 
Kittanning  Bed  near  Stone  House,  are  situated  on  the  farms 
owned  by  Mr.  Daniel  Graham,  Mr.  Wigton,  and  Mr.  Turk. 
The  quality  and  thickness  of  the  coal  are  about  the  same 
in  all  of  these  banks,  and  one  measurement  will  serve  to 
show  its  structure  in  this  vicinity. 

At  the  opening  owned  by  Mr.  Daniel  Graham,  a  measure¬ 
ment  gave  .the  thickness  shown  in  Fig.  54: 


Graham  Coal  Bank. 


Slate  and  sandstone  roof. 

Slaty  roof,  (draw  slate  ?)  . 

mrr 

•  •  •  f 

Coal, . 

.  .  .  11" 

Slaty  coal, . 

...  2" 

Coal, . 

...  1'  0" 

Soft  parting, . 

.  .  .  thin. 

Coal, . 

.  .  .  i/  i". 

V.5  4 


y 


3'  9 


The  coal  is  of  good  quality,  with  only  a  moderate  amount 
of  pyrites,  and  mines  in  large  pieces. 

It  has  also  been  opened  at  two  banks  by  Mr.  Josiah  Gra¬ 
ham,  one  mile  wxest  from  Stone  House.  One  of  these  has 
fallen  into  disuse,  and  within  a  few  rods  of  its  mouth  Mrs. 
Mary  Weber  has  had  a  bank  opened.  In  all  of  these  open¬ 
ings  the  coal  shows  about  the  same  structure. 

It  is  of  very  fair  quality  and  measures — [see  Fig.  55  :] 


76  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Weber  Coal  Bank. 
Shale  roof. 

Slaty  coal,  ..... 

Coal, . 

Slaty  coal, . 

Coal, . 


V.55 


2'  1"J 


At  the  cross  roads  one  mile  southwest  from  Stone  House, 
the  smuts  of  both  the  Upper  and  Middle  Kittanning  Coal 
beds  were  seen  in  the  road  gutters.  They  here  lie  about 
forty  feet  apart. 

In  this  vicinity  Mr.  Hugh  Grossman  has  a  bank  opened 
on  a  coal  about  three  feet  thick,  which  is  probably  the  Up¬ 
per  Kittanning  bed. 

About  one  mile  northwest  from  the  Badger  Banks,  and 
close  to  the  Worth  township  line,  two  banks  are  opened 
near  Mr.  Robert  Glenn’s  house.  One  of  them  is  now  fallen 
shut,  but  the  other — a  new  opening — is  very  substantially 
built  and  is  in  good  running  order.  It  lies  35  feet  higher 
than  the  Badger  Banks,  and  is  probably  on  the  same  (Mid¬ 
dle  Kittanning)  bed,  but,  in  the  absence  of  any  good  key 
rock,  its  identification  with  this  bed  is  quite  uncertain. 
Near  the  mouth  of  the  entry  a  measurement  gave  the  thick¬ 
ness  shown  by  Fig.  56 : 


Glenn's  Coal  Bank. 

Very  slaty  coal — draw  slate,  . 

Coal,  slatv, . 

Coal,  good, . 

Slate,  . 

Coal, . 


5"" 

V  0" 

V  3" 


3'1" 


1" 

4" 


V.56 


The  following  record  of  the  John  Smith  Well,  (See  Plate 
VI,)  was  kindly  furnished  by  Messrs.  Phillips  Bros.,  and 
is  said  to  be  a  correct  description  of  the  strata  drilled 
through.  It  exhibits  features  precisely  similar  to  the  Bul¬ 
lion,  Keno,  and  Oil  Creek  well  records.  The  Big  Red  Rock 
over  the  first  sand  is  especially  noticeable,  and  is  a  most 
important  key  stratum,  as  it  is  found  at  a  nearly  constant 
horizon  over  a  large  area  from  Franklin  southwestward  to 
this  vicinity  and  westward  to  the  Ohio  line. 


BRADY  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  77 


John  Smith  Well ,  ( drilled  in  1877.) 

On  J.  Smitli  farm,  Brady  township,  one  and  a  quarter 
miles  northwest  from  the  Prospect  bridge  over  Muddy 
Creek.  Authority  E.  I.  Agnew,  per  W.  G.  Power. 

Slate  and  fire-clay, . 230  to  230 

Limestone ;  Ferriferous,  . . 15  to  245 

Slate  and  clay, . 27  to  2/2 

Sand-rock, . 18  to  290 

Block  slate, . 110  to  400 

Sand-rock, . 65  to  465 

Slate, .  3  to  468 

Mountain  sand, . 100  to  568 

Slate  and  shells, . 72  to  640 

Grey  sand. . 50  to  690 

Slate  and  shells,  . . 10  to  700 

Sand-rock, . 30  to  730 

Slate, . 180  to  910 

Sand-rock, . 26  to  936 

Slate  and  shells, . 119  to  1055 

Red  Rock, . 60  to  1115 

Slate  and  shells, . 15  to  1130 

First  sand, . 60  to  1190 

Slate, . 85  to  1275 

Second  sand, . \  (  20  to  1295 

Slate, . >  Second  sand,  •<  20  to  1315 

Sand -rock, . )  (  25  to  1340 

Slate,  (ISTote  1,) . 55  to  1395 

Granite,  (Note  2,)  .  .  . . .  .  5  to  1400 

Slate . 31  to  1431 

Third  sand,  (off  color,) . 19  to  1450 

Black  slate,  (pocket,) .  8J-  to  1458-§ 

“  Note  1.  55'.  This  should  be  the  “  Granite, ”  which  is  a  dark,  sandy  slate. 

Note  2.  5'.  This  should  bo  tho  “Stray”  sand— it  underlies  the  granite.” 

The  Third  sand  was  poor  and  quito  shelly,  and  yielded  no  oil. 

N.  B.  The  above  record  is  given  as  received  in  the  driller’s  nomenclature. 
A  shell  is  any  hard  stratum,  usually  sandy,  but  generally  quite  Line  grained. 


78  V. 


"REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H,  M.  CHANCE. 


§  52.  Clay  Township. 


This  township  lies  in  the  middle  tier  immediately  north 
of  Centre  township. 

It  is  occupied  by  very  hilly  country  with  summits  from 
200  to  250  feet  above  water  level.  The  divide  between  the 
Slippery  Rock  and  Muddy  Creek  enters  its  western  line 
near  the  centre,  sweeps  in  a  very  irregular  curve  through 
the  township,  passing  very  close  to  Sunbury,  and  runs  out 
of  it  in  a  southeasterly  direction  towards  Middletown. 

The  Mahoning  Sandstone  and  Freeport  Group  are  caught 
in  its  high  lands.  Both  the  Upper  and  Lower  Freeport 
coals  are  locally  workable  beds,  and  the  Upper  Freeport 
Limestone  is  sometimes  present. 

The  Kittanning  group  occupies  the  low  lands  of  the  town¬ 
ship,  and  is  only  available  above  water  level  over  a  small 


area. 


The  section  shown  in  Fig.  57  was  compiled  from  expos¬ 
ures  in  and  around  the  borough  of  Sunbury.  It  can  be 
regarded  as  a  typical  section  of  the  measures  in  this  town¬ 
ship. 

Sunbury  Section.  V.  5 7 

Slaty  and  sandy  shale  on  summits,  40'  \  ^ 

Slaty  shale,  . 10'  S 

Freeport  Upper  coal, .  4' 

Fireclay,  . )  2g< 

Concealed,  (with  ore  balls,  shale,  ?)  )  ' 

Freeport  Upper  Limestone, .  3' 

Concealed, . 42' 

Freeport  Lower  coal, .  5' 

Fireclay,  . 

Concealed,  with  hard,  massive  ]■  50'  to  GO' 

(Freeport)  Sandstone,  .  .  . 

Kittanning  Upper  coal  (?) . 

The  Freeport  Upper  coal  is  opened  and  mined  at  the 
Thompson  bank  in  Sunbury,  where  it  is  of  quite  good 
quality  and  mines  in  good  sized  pieces,  but  is  somewhat 
troubled  with  pyrites  binders.  It  shows  no  insistent 
slaty  partings  and  measures  :  [Fig.  58.] 


CLAY  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  79 


V.58 


Thompson  Coal  BanJc. 


Sliale  roof — good. 
Coal, . 


Coal,  slaty  and  laminated, . V  4" 

At  the  bank  owned  by  Mr.  McMiehael  one  mile  south¬ 
west  of  town  the  bed  measures  three  feet  and  eight  inches 
and  is  divided  into  three  benches.  Most  of  the  coal  is 
mined  from  the  middle  or  “two  foot”  bench  which  is 
rather  sulphury,  but  resists  weathering  much  better  than 
would  be  expected.  A  large  quantity  is  yearly  taken  from 
this  opening  for  use  in  Sunbury  and  the  adjacent  country. 

The  bank  is  in  excellent  condition,  and  has  a  good  roof 
of  sandy  slate  that  requires  little  timbering.  A  measure¬ 
ment  of  the  bed  made  near  the  mouth  of  the  entry,  gave 
the  structure  shown  in  Fig.  59  : 

McMiehael  Coal  Bank. 

Sandy  slate  roof — good. 

Slaty  coal, .  8"  V.59 


Coal, 

Slate, 

Coal, 

Slate, 


10" 
T  0 " 


Fireclay. 

On  the  adjoining  farm  Mr.  Painter  has  opened  two  banks 
on  this  bed ;  and  on  the  Patterson  Farm,. south  of  Sunbury, 
there  is  another  entry  in  running  order  upon  the  same  seam. 

In  no  other  part  of  the  township  is  this  bed,  (Freeport 
Upper,)  either  of  workable  quality  or  thickness.  In  Wash¬ 
ington  township,  northeast  from  Sunbury,  it  is  often  absent ; 
north  from  town  it  is  thin ;  west  of  this  locality  it  can  seldom 
be  found,  and  is  never  a  workable  bed  ;  and  south  and  south¬ 
west  from  this  immediate  vicinity  it  is  always  either  too 
poor  or  too  thin  to  mine  ;  but  east  and  southeast  of  Clay 
township,  and  between  it  and  the  Brady’s  Bend  country,  in 
Armstrong  county,  this  coal  is  often  a  locally  workable  bed, 
but  is  seldom  either  so  good  or  so  thick,  and  is  never  so 
valuable  as  it  is  at  the  Sunbury  banks. 

The  Freeport  Upper  Limestone  outcrops  at  several  places 
near  town,  and  at  the  race  course,  one  half  mile  east  of  the 


so  v. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


borough  line.  Attempts  have  frequently  been  made  to  burn 
it,  but  they  resulted  in  the  production  of  an  inferior  lime 
that  no  one  would  buy.  The  bed  is  from  two  and  a  half  to 
three  feet  thick,  and  is  associated  with  more  or  less  nodu¬ 
lar  iron  ore.  It  here  lies  about  twenty-live  feet  below  the 
Upper  Freeport  Coal  bed,  but  as  its  presence  was  not  de¬ 
tected  in  any  other  part  of  the  township,  it  may  be  found 
in  a  somewhat  different  position  in  other  localities. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Coal  bed  has  been  opened  at  several 
banks  near  Sunbury.  At  the  opening  owned  by  Mr.  Wm. 
C.  Glenn,  the  bed  measures  a  total  thickness  of  five  feet, 
and  would  be  a  valuable  seam  were  it  not  for  the  thick  slate' 
band  that  parts  it  into  two  benches.  Figure  60  approxi¬ 
mately  shows  its  structure  : 

Glenn  Goal  Bank,  (Sunbury.)  V.60 


Coal, 

Slate, 

Coal, 


Owing  to  some  unaccountable  oversight,  this  bank  was 
not  visited,  and  the  above  measurement  is  from  a  statement 
given  me  by  a  miner  who  had  worked  in  the  bank,  and  who 
professed  to  be  familiar  with  all  the  coal  banks  near  Sun- 
bur  v. 


On  the  Butler  pike,  one  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Sun¬ 
bury,  the  blossom  of  this  bed  can  be  seen  in  several  places. 
It  lies  about  seventy  feet  below  the  Upper  Freeport  Coal, 
and  is  sometimes  overlaid  by  a  rather  coarse  and  massive 
(Upper  Freeport)  sandstone. 

The  Kittanning  Upper  Coal  (?)  has  been  opened  and  mined 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mr.  Samuel  McElvain,  near  Sun¬ 
bury,  but  the  bank  has  been  shut  for  over  twenty  years. 
It  is  said  to  measure  two  feet,  and  tradition  savs  that  it 
was  a  remarkable  good  coal,  but  was  abandoned  on  account 
of  being  rather  thin.  This  bed  is  probably  the  same  with 
the  coal  mined  by  Mr.  Glenn,  in  the  southwestern  corner 
of  Washington  township.  At  the  latter  locality  a  coal 
nearly  four  feet  thick  was  found  in  a  water  well  at  about 
thirty  feet  below  the  Glenn  Bank.  This  bed  may  be  the 


CLAY  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  81 


// 


// 


// 


V.6I 


Bi" 

6  " 
6 


r.c 


// 


Upper  Kittanning  coal,  and  if  sncli  be  the  case,  then  the 
latter  bank  is  opened  on  a  stray  bed  lying  near  the  horizon 
of  the  Currie  Local  Coal,  and  the  McElvain  coal  must  be 
referred  to  the  same  place  in  the  measures.  Its  distance 
below  the  Upper  Freeport  Limestone  is  confirmatory  of  the 
correctness  of  this  identification. 

The  Freeport  Upper  and  Lower  Coals  are  both  well  ex¬ 
posed  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  township. 

A  bank  newly  opened  by  Mr.  Sami.  Mock  on  the  former 
bed  gave  a  measurement  of :  (Fig.  61.) 

Mock  Coal  Bank. 

Shale  roof  (seen) . 10/  0 

Coal  and  Slate,  .  9 

Slate, . 2_//  to  1 

Coal, . 

Slate, . 

Coal, . 

Fireclay. 

It  is  a  very  poor  slaty  bed  and  is  of  no  value.  The 
entry  was  pushed  into  the  hill  in  expectation  that  the  bed 
would  lose  its  slate  and  improve  in  quality.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  all  such  ideas  are  only  delusive  and  can  never 
be  of  any  service  to  those  depending  upon  them.  A  coal 
bed  thickens  or  thins,  improves  or  deteriorates,  with  no 
regard  to  the  accidental  shapes  of  hills  or  valleys  pro¬ 
duced  by  aerial  erosion.  It  may  be  thickest  at  its  outcrop, 
or  under  the  highest  part  of  the  hill ;  or  when  it  has  least 
cover,  and  vice  versa.  On  the  farms  owned  by  Mr.  James 
Young  and  Mr.  Pobt.  Patterson,  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
north  from  Mock’s  Bank,  there  are  two  old  banks  on  the 
Lower  Freeport  bed.  The  former  bank  has  been  shut  for 
about  twenty-five  years,  and  no  coal  has  been  taken  from 
the  Patterson  opening  for  over  fourteen  years. 

Mr.  Young  states  that  as  nearly  as  he  can  recollect  the 
bed  measured  (Fig.  62— compare  Fig.  60.)  V.62 

Young  Coal  Bank. 

Coal, . 2' 

Slate,  . . 1/ 

Coal, . 

6Y. 


wV 


mma 

- 

82  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


It  is  immediately  overlain  by  the  Upper  Freeport  Sand¬ 
stone  which  is  a  hard  massive  rock,  more  than  ten  feet  thick. 

A  short  distance  southwest  from  the  Mock  bank,  and 
near  the  junction  of  this  road  with  the  Butler  pike,  Mr. 
McAnallen  has  an  old  bank  on  the  Lower  Freeport  bed, 
which  here  lies  about  seventy  feet  beneath  the  Upper  Free¬ 
port  Coal.  This  opening  has  been  closed  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  no  examination  of  the  bed  could  be  made,  but 
the  coal  is  said  to  be  rather  slaty,  and  was  not  very  highly 
prized  by  any  who  had  used  it. 

Hear  the  Baptist  Sunday  School  building,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  township,  two  banks  have  been  opened  in  close 
proximity  to  each  other,  on  a  bed  lying  near  the  horizon  of 
the  Lower  Freeport  bed,  but  which  may  possibly  be  the 
Upper  Kittanning  Coal  bed. 

The  coal  is  of  fair  quality,  but  the  bed  is  rather  variable 
in  thickness.  A  measurement  made  in  the  bank  on  the 
main  road  gave  [See  Fig.  G3.] 

School  House  Coal  Bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Coal, . 

Slate, . 

Coal, . 

Slate  and  coal,  . .  .  ,  . 

Slialy  slate  floor. 

The  coal  here  exhibits  a  violent  dip  towards  the  south, 
but  this  is  probably  local. 

The  same  bed  has  been  opened  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
west  from  these  banks,  but  was  abandoned  several  years 
ago  and  the  entry  is  now  closed.  It  is  said  to  be  about 
three  feet  thick. 

The  exposures  seen  in  this  neighborhood  give  the  section 
shown  in  Fig.  64,  as  follows : 

School  House  Section. 

Coal  (Upper?  Freeport  Lower ?)  ...  2' 

Partly  concealed, . 35' 

Hard  massive  sandstone, . 20' 

Coal  (Freeport  Lower  \  Kitt.  Upper  ?)  .  3' 

If  the  coal  oiDened  be  the  Kittanning  Upper  bed,  the  bed 


V  4" 
1" 
1'  7" 
9" 


V.64 


CLAY  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  83 


seen  in  blossom  fifty -five  feet  above  it  is  the  Freeport 
Lower  Coal,  but  if  the  former  be  the  Lower  Freeport  then 
the  latter  must  be  the  Freeport  Upper  bed.  In  either  case 
the  interval  between  them  seems  to  be  too  small,  but  this 
may  be  partly  owing  to  an  error  in  the  measurements  occa¬ 
sioned  by  the  sharp  south  dip  which  seems  to  pervade  the 
measures  in  this  locality. 

In  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  township,  the  Upper 
Kittanning  coal  is  opened  and  mined  on  the  land  owned  by 
Mr.  Hall.  The  coal  here  shows  about  the  same  character 
and  thickness  that  it  exhibits  in  the  Stone  House  Banks  in 
Franklin  township,  measuring  about  three  feet  of  good  coal, 
with  a  roof  of  sandy  shale  and  a  fireclay  floor. 


§  53:  Concord  Towns7vip. 

This  township  lies  east  of  Clay  and  north  of  Oakland 
townships,  and  is  rather  poorly  supplied  with  coal,  but 
the  existence  of  oil  territory  within  its  limits  has  amply 
compensated  it  for  this  deficiency. 

The  great  Allegheny  and  Beaver  Hiver  Divide  sweeps 
through  it  in  nearly  a  north  and  south  line,  passing  close 
to  the  old  borough  of  Middletown.  This  town  is  situated 
at  the  juncture  of  the  Slippery  Hock  and  Muddy  Creek 
divide  with  the  Muddy  Creek  and  Connoquenessing 
dividing  ridge  and  the  first  named  water  shed.  It  can 
therefore  be  considered  as  the  centre  of  the  drainage  sys¬ 
tem  of  northern  Butler.  Muddy  Creek,  the  main  Branch 
of  Bear  Creek,  the  South  Branch  of  Slippery  Hock  Creek, 
Bufialo  Creek,  and  Kearn’ s  Branch  of  the  Connoquenessing, 
all  rise  in  its  vicinity. 

The  surface  of  this  township  is  made  entirely  from  the 
outcrops  of  the  Freeport  Group,  the  Mahoning  Sandstone, 
and  a  small  part  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  Barren  Meas¬ 
ures.  The  latter  is  only  found  in  the  high  lands  near  the 
Oakland  township  line,  east  and  west  from  Greece  City. 

The  Freeport  Upper  Coal  (Millerstown  bed?)  has  been 
opened  by  Mr.  J.  Hay  on  his  farm  about  a  mile  and  a  half 


84  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


west  of  Middletown,  but  the  month  of  the  entry  is  closed 
at  present. 

About  110  feet  below  it,  a  bed  has  been  opened  on  the 
place  owned  by  Mr.  J.  Young,  which  resembles  somewhat 
the  Upper  Kittanning  coal.  If  the  Ray  Bank  be  on  the 
Millerstown  bed,  then  this  coal  is  the  Lower  Freeport  bed. 
I  am  inclined  to  think  the  latter  identification  correct. 

Mr.  Young  drove  this  entry  in  a  short  distance,  and  then 
abandoned  it,  on  account  of  the  unsatisfactory  quality  of 
the  coal.  There  is  now  visible  at  the  opening,  (see  Fig. 
65.) 

J.  Young ’  s  coal  tank. 

Massive  yellowish  sandstone. 

Shale  roof, . 3' 

Black  shaly  “  draw  slate,”  . V 

Coal,  (seen,) . V  6" 

Year  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Middletown,  there  is  an 
old  bank,  on  one  of  the  Freeport  beds,  from  which  a  large 
quantity  of  coal  has  been  taken.  The  mouth  of  the  entry 
has  fallen  shut,  and  no  examination  of  the  bed  could  be 
made.  About  forty-five  feet  above  it,  the  blossom  of  an¬ 
other  bed  (Millerstown  Coal  bed  ?)  is  seen  in  the  road,  but 
from  the  character  of  the  outcrop  I  should  not  think  that 
the  bed  contained  more  than  two  feet  of  coal. 

The  Mahoning  Sandstone  is  seldom  a  prominent  stratum 
in  this  township,  being  generally  largely  replaced  by  sandy 
shale.  The  Freeport  Lower  Sandstone  is  also  quite  a  shaly 
rock,  and  so  far  loses  its  peculiar  lithological  characteristics 
that  it  cannot  be  depended  upon  as  a  key  rock  in  identi¬ 
fying  its  underlying  or  overlying  coal  beds. 

The  Upper  Freeport  Coal  bed  has  been  opened  by  Mr. 
Rider,  on  the  road  running  northwest  from  Boydstown,  and 
about  one  mile  west  of  Greece  City,  but  this  bank  has  al¬ 
ready  been  mentioned  in  the  description  of  Oakland  town¬ 
ship,  and  nothing  further  need  be  said  of  it  in  this  connec¬ 
tion. 

On  the  Jamison  farm  near  Greece  City,  the  Millerstown  (?) 
Coal  bed  (Upper  Freeport  bed  ?)  is  mined  quite  largely  for 
use  at  the  oil  wells.  The  coal  is  rather  slaty,  but  mines 


CONCORD  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  85 


easily  and  commands  a  ready  sale.  A  measurement  made 
at  this  bank  gave  the  structure  shown  in  Fig.  66. 

Jamieson  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Black  slate, .  4" 

Slate  and  coal,  .  8" 

Coal,  with  slaty  laminae, . T  0" 

Coal,  good, . V  10" 

Fireclay  floor. 

About  forty-five  feet  below  this  bed,  the  blossom  of  the 
Freeport  Upper  [Lower  ?]  coal  is  seen  at  several  places  along 
the  road  side.  It  is  not  a  workable  bed. 

The  Freeport  Upper  Limestone  was  not  detected  in  this 
locality,  though  much  time  was  spent  in  searching  for  some 
trace  of  it. 

On  the  high  ridge  north  from  Middletown,  the  outcrop  of 
Freeport  Upper  Limestone  is  exposed  in  several  places. 
The  fragments  seen  on  the  North  Washington  road,  indi¬ 
cate  that  there  are  two  beds  present,  lying  fifty  or  sixty 
feet  apart,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  fragments  seen  at 
the  lower  level,  have  come  from  the  upper  bed.  The  latter 
is-  from  two  to  four  feet  thick.  A  few  feet  above  it,  the 
smut  of  the  Upper  Freeport  Coal  is  seen,  but  the  character 
of  its  blossom  indicates  that  it  is  quite  thin. 

Though  the  Freeport  Lower  bed  can  frequently  be  de¬ 
tected  in  the  exposures  along  the  roads,  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  township,  it  is  not  opened  north  of  Middletown,  and 
is  probably  either  too  thin  or  too  poor,  to  be  of  any  value. 


§  5J  “ Fourth  Sand ”  Oil  Territory. 

The  first  successful  well  drilled  in  the  Butler  County  Oil 
District  was  located  in  this  township.  It  was  situated  at 
Modoc  City  on  the  Troutman  Farm,  and  was  struck  March 
23d,  1873. 

The  “Fourth  Sand”  productive  territory,  as  at  present 
developed,  sweeps  across  the  township  in  a  comparatively 
narrow  belt  from  the  central  part  of  the  Fairview  township 
line  to  its  terminus  at  Greece  City  near  the  middle  of  the 


86  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


north  line  of  Oakland  township.  West  and  southwest 
from  Greece  City,  the  country  has  been  riddled  with  holes 
in  search  of  a  prolongation  of  this  belt,  but  up  to  the  present 
time  no  producing  wells  have  been  found  outside  the  ‘  £  belt  ’  ’ 
limits.  Many  of  these  wells  are  reported  as  having  found 
a  sand  of  good  quality  and  of  unlooked  for  thickness,  but 
containing  no  oil. 

All  the  oil  produced  in  this  township  is  from  the  Fourth 
Sand  which  here  lies  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  beneath  the 
Third  Oil  Sand. 


§  55.  Fair  mew  Township. 

This  township  lies  east  of  Concord  and  north  of  Donegal 
township,  and  adjoins  Armstrong  county  along  its  eastern 
line. 

In  it  the  rocks  included  between  the  Mahoning  Sandstone 
and  the  Upper  Kittanning  coal  bed  are  all  well  exposed, 
but  fail  to  show  the  presence  of  any  good  coal  beds.  Both 
the  Upper  and  Lower  Freeport  coal  beds  are  quite  poor 
and  thin,  and  though  many  attempts  have  been  made  to 
work  them,  their  worthlessness  always  stopped  operations. 
Nearly  all  the  coal  now  mined  in  the  township  is  taken  from 
the  Millerstown  coal  bed,  and  the  Upper  Kittanning  (Cen¬ 
tral  Point)  bed. 

But  few  good  farms  are  noticed  in  this  township.  This 
is  partially  owing  to  the  existence  of  oil  over  so  large  a 
portion  of  its  area,  and  partially  to  the  fact  that  much  of 
the  land  is  “worked  out,”  and  sadly  needs  an  inorganic 
fertilizer,  such  as  lime,  the  phosphate  fertilizers,  etc. 

When  oil  is  struck  in  a  well,  the  farm  on  which  it  is  situ¬ 
ated,  no  matter  how  good  an  one  it  may  be,  usually  falls 
into  a  totally  neglected  state,  and  fast  goes  back  to  its 
primitive  condition.  The  fences  are  torn  down,  weeds  are 
allowed  an  unobstructed  growth,  oil  filters  through  the  soil 
in  all  directions,  a  young  growth  of  brush  springs  up,  and 
in  a  few  years  all  signs  of  a  good  farm  have  been  obliter¬ 
ated.  Such  is  the  condition  of  much  of  the  arable  land  in 
Fairview  township. 


FAIKVIEW  TOWNSHIP. 


y.  87 


The  4  4  Third  Sand  Oil  Belt 5  5  which  runs  across  the  town¬ 
ship  in  a  direction  of  about  N.  22°  E.,  S.  22°  W.,  consists 
of  several  sub-belts,  to  which  the  following  different  names 
have  been  given,  “Eastern  Belt”  (in  two  sub-divisions), 
44  Sucker  Rod  Belt”  and  44  Western  Belt.”  These  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  narrow,  continuous  4 4 streaks”  of  porous,  more 
or  less  pebbly  sandstone,  separated  from  each  other  by 
hard,  close  sandrock  incapable  of  holding  or  yielding  oil  in 
paying  quantities.* 

The  4 4 Fourth  Sand  Oil  Belt”  crosses  from  west  to  east  in 
a  curved  line,  bearing  JST.  45°  E.  to  N.  80°  E.  At  the  west¬ 
ern  edge  of  the  township  it  is  rather  narrow,  but  broadens 
out  on  approaching  Karns  City  and  Petrolia,  only  to  nar¬ 
row  down  again  before  passing  eastward  into  Armstrong 
county. 

The  sand  in  which  the  wells  on  this  belt  find  their  oil 
lies  from  forty  to  seventy  feet  beneath  the  Third  Sand.  The 
Millerstown  Eastern  Belt  also  finds  its  oil  at  this  horizon. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Karns  City,  Petrolia  and  Fair- 
view,  oil  has  been  found  in  both  the  Third  and  Fourth  Sands. 
The  first  wells  put  down  in  this  vicinity  were  drilled  only 
to  the  Third  Sand  and  were  considered  good  wells.  The 
existence  of  a  Fourth  Sand  was  not  then  known,  but  when 
it  became  evident  that  the  Modoc  sand  was  a  lower  stratum 

*  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  because  a  sandrock  is  close  and  finegrained,  is 
is  incapable  of  holding  oil  in  quantity.  On  the  contrary,  we  know  that  if  the 
grains  of  sand  were  spherical,  a  finegrained  rock  would  be  capable  of  hold¬ 
ing  as  much  oil  as  a  coarser  grained,  or  pebbly  sandstone,  for  the  “  intermole- 
cular”  spaces  would  bear  the  same  ratio  to  the  solid  contents  in  one  case  as  in 
the  other,  assuming  that  there  were  no  cementing  material  in  either  rock. 

In  many  places  where  the  oil  sand  is  very  finegrained,  it  is  found  to  be 
thoroughly  saturated  with  oil,  and  often  probably  holds  at  least  half  as  much 
oil  as  the  coarser  portions  of  the  Third  Sand. 

But  tho  obj  ection  to  this  view  is  that  a  fine  grained  sand — though  soaked 
with  oil — always  is  but  sparingly  productive,  yielding  very  small  wells  and 
dry  holes.  That  such  is  the  experience  of  operators  is  not  surprising,  indeed 
it  could  not  be  otherwise,  for  the  oil  in  any  well,  only  flows  from  tho  rock 
into  tho  well  by  reason  of  pressure  from  the  imprisoned  gas,  and  in  a  fine 
grained  rock  this  is  counterbalanced  by  molecular  attraction ,  holding  the 
oil  in  the  rock,  or  allowing  it  to  percolate  into  tho  well  very  slowly. 

Not  only  are  tho  finegrained  sandrocks  often  saturated  with  oil,  but  the 
shales  overlying  and  underlying  tho  oil  sand,  are  sometimes  soaked  with  it; 
this  is  not  the  rule,  but  an  exception  to  it.  H.  M.  C. 


88  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


than  the  sand  at  Petrolia,  many  operators  again  started 
the  drill  in  their  then  declining  wells,  and  were  rewarded 
by  very  large  flowing  wells,  some  of  which  are  said  to  have 
produced  over  8000  barrels  in  twenty-four  hours. 

The  section  shown  by  Fig.  67  was  com¬ 
piled  from  exposures  observed  in  the  val¬ 
ley  of  Big  Bear  Creek  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  northwest  from  Fairview. 

Big  Bear  Creek  section. 

Freeport  Lower  Coal, . blossom. 

Concealed — SS.  and  shale,  .  .  30' 

Coal — Currie  Local  bed  (?)....  8' 

Concealed, — sandy  shale,  ...  40' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, .  3' 

Concealed  (about) .  60' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal, .  2' 

Concealed, — contains  Lower  Kit¬ 
tanning  Coal  bed .  75' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, .  15' 

In  the  above  section  a  three  foot  bed  of  coal  is  noted  at 
the  horizon  of  the  Currie  Local  coal  lying  in  the  interval 
usually  occupied  by  the  Freeport  Sandstone.  This  bed  is 
opened  at  several  banks  and  yields  a  good  hard  coal,  min¬ 
ing  in  large  pieces,  but  is  somewhat  troubled  with  sulphur 
binders.  At  the  opening  owned  and  worked  by  Mr.  Lucas 
a  measurement  gave  see  (Fig.  68.) 


Lucas  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Coal, . 1'  6"  to  1'  9" 

Slate,  .  5" 

Coal,  about .  7" 


V.68 


Forty  feet  below  this  bank  lies  the  bed  on  which  Mr. 
Watson  is  working  a  bank.  This  is  the  Kittanning  Upper 
bed,  and  is  of  quite  good  quality,  being  free  from  pyrites, 
and  mining  very  nicely.  All  the  slate  is  left  in  the  bank  as 
a  roof.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  entry  the  coal  shows  this 
structure  (see  Fig.  69.) 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  bed  and  the  Ferriferous 


FAIKVIEW  TOWNSHIP, 


y.  89 


Limestone  have  been  transferred  to  the  preceding  section 
(Fig.  67)  from  exposures  near  the  mouth  of  Silver  Creek  in 
Parker  township,  and  will  be  discussed  in  the  description 
of  that  township.  The  Lower  Kittanning  coal  which  is  seen 
at  stream  level  near  Argyle  will  also  be  described  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  Parker  township. 

Watson  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Slaty  coal — left  for  roof, .  4" 

Soft  parting, .  y 

Coal, . 2'  2" 

Slate  floor. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Central  Point,  one  half  mile  south  of 
Petrolia,  the  Kittanning  Upper  bed  has  been  opened  and 
mined  at  a  number  of  banks,  from  which  a  large  amount 
of  coal  has  been  taken.  The  bed  here  shows  an  unusual 
thickness,  but  explorations  made  in  the  country  north  and 
northwest  from  Central  Point,  show  that  it  is  only  a  very 
local  enlargement.  Going  southward  it  soon  passes  beneath 
water  level  in  Little  Bear  Creek. 

This  coal  was  not  noted  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Carll  in  his  record 
of  the  Hazelwood  Well  No.  21,  (see  Chapter  X,)  which  is 
located  on  the  hill  north  of  these  banks,  but  I  have  inserted 
it  in  the  record  to  show  its  place  with  reference  to  the  Fer¬ 
riferous  Limestone  at  Central  Point.  It  usually  shows  about 
the  following  thickness : 

Central  Point  coal  bank. 

Grey  shale  roof. 

Cannel  slate, .  11" 

Coal, . 4'  3" 

Fireclav  floor. 

The  Currie  Local  coal  is  represented  at  Petrolia  by  a  thin 
vein  of  cannel  coal  nine  inches  thick,  resting  on  a  bed  of 
fireclay,  and  lying  about  thirty  feet  above  the  Sheakley 
(Upper  Kittanning)  Coal  Banks.  It  has  been  opened  in 
several  places  near  town,  but  is  always  too  thin  to  mine. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Sandstone  has  here — as  in  nearly 
every  other  part  of  the  township — a  very  shaly  character, 
and  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  determine  its  horizon  or 


90  y. 


EEPOET  OF  PEOGEESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


place  of  outcrop,  by  means  of  topographical  features.  We 
have,  in  fact,  no  key  rock  to  guide  us  in  the  identification 
of  the  coals  of  this  township,  except  the  Ferriferous  Lime¬ 
stone,  and  as  this  stratum  is  always  beneath  water  level, 
we  are  forced  to  make  use  of  oil  well  records  to  obtain  its 
distance  below  the  various  coal  beds  of  the  series. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Coal  is  occasionally  seen  in  blossom 
on  the  roadsides,  but  it  is  never  of  good  quality  or  work¬ 
able  size.  Its  underlying  limestone  is  seldom  seen  on  the 
surface,  but  it  is  reported  as  having  been  passed  through 
by  many  oil  wells.  The  records  kept  by  Mr.  Carll,  and  re¬ 
published  in  Chapter  X  of  this  report,  show  the  presence 
of  this  stratum,  but  it  was  so  thin  that  on  measurement 
was  made  of  it. 

The  smut  of  the  Freeport  Upper  coal  was  occasionally 
observed,  but  the  bed  is  quite  thin,  and  always  very  poor 
and  slaty,  and  unfit  for  mining.  A  few  feet  below  it,  frag¬ 
ments  of  the  Upper  Freeport  limestone  are  sometimes  found, 
but  the  bed  was  never  seen  in  situ,  and  its  thickness  cannot 
be  stated. 


§  56.  Miller stown  Coal.  [Fair mew  T.) 

This  bed  is  mined  quite  extensively  at  Karns  City ;  from 
Karns  City  to  Angelica ;  from  Angelica  and  Buena  Vista 
to  Millerstown ;  and  between  Karns  City  and  Millerstown. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone,  as  determined  by  several  oil 
well  records,  underlies  it  by  from  295  to  315  feet.  It,  there¬ 
fore,  as  already  stated  in  chapter  IV,  lies  in  the  horizon  of 
the  Mahoning  sandstone,  but  this  rock  is  never  a  hard  or 
massive  sandstone  within  the  limits  of  good  development 
of  this  coal  bed. 

The  coal  is  of  rather  inferior  quality,  and  were  there  not 
a  great  demand  for  coal  at  the  oil  wells,  very  little  of  it 
would  be  mined. 

At  the  bank  owned  by  Mrs.  Martha  Storey,  one  mile 
south  of  Fairview,  the  coal  exhibits  the  structure  shown  in 
Fig.  71.  Going  dowrn  the  stream  from  this  bank,  the  coal 
is  opened  at  intervals  all  the  way  to  Karns  City. 


FAIRVIEW  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  91 


V.  71 


Mrs.  Store?/ s  Coal  Bank, 

Sandstone  :  (reported)  upper  part  of 
tlie  Mahoning  SS. 

Slate  roof, . 10' 

Poor  slaty  coal, . V  7" 

Coal,  ........ . .  2' 1" 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  upper  bench  is  always  a  poor  slaty 
coal,  and  is  generally  left  in  the  mine  as  a 
roof.  At  Karns  City  this  bench  swells  to 
over  two  feet,  and  is  quite  variable  both  in 

thickness  and  character.  At  the  opening  worked  by  the 
Karns  City  and  Butler  Railroad  Conqiany,  the  bed  over 
four  feet  thick  as  shown  in  Fig.  72,  and  has  a  slate  floor. 

Railroad  Coal  Bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Black  slate,  (draw  slate,)  .  .  6" 

Slate  and  coal,  .  V  0" 

Poor  slaty  coal, .  11"  to  V  0" 

Coal, . 2'  0"  to  2'  3" 

Slate, . 2" 

Fireclay  floor. 

In  the  hollow  southeast  from  town,  at  the  Gardner  bank 
on  the  Kincaid  farm,  a  thin  seam  of  coal  comes  in  beneath 
the  lower  band  of  slate.  A  measurement  made  at  this 
opening,  gave:  (Fig.  73.) 

Gardner  Coal  Bank . 

Dark  slate  roof. 

Slaty  coal, . V  0" 

Coal, . 2'  6" 

Slate, .  2" 

Coal, .  3" 

Fireclay  floor. 

On  Buffalo  creek,  between  Buena  Vista  and  Millerstown, 
the  bed  is  mined  quite  extensively.  The  upper  bench  is 
nearly  worthless,  but  the  lower  bench  yields  a  very  fair 
coal.  The  following  measurement,  illustrated  by  Fig.  74, 
made  in  a  bank  on  the  Barnhart  farm,  will  show  the  struc¬ 
ture  of  the  bed  in  this  locality : 


V.73 


92  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Barnhart  Coal  Bank . 
Shale  roof. 

Slate,  dark,  . 

Slate  and  coal, . 

Slaty  coal, . 

Soft  parting, . 

Coal, . 


9" 

V  8" 

V  0" 
i"to  -1" 

2'  3" 


V.74 


At  the  bank,  opened  near  Mr.  Nolan’s  house,  one  half 
mile  north  from  Millerstown,  the  coal  is  of  very  poor  qual¬ 
ity,  containing  throughout  the  bed  many  small  seams  of 
slate.  The  bed  was  measured  with  the  following  result: 
(Fig.  75.) 

Nolan  Coal  Bank. 

Shaly  slate  roof. 

Coal, . 4"  to  6" 

Slate,  .  8" 

Slaty  coal, .  V  0" 

Coal,  (seen,)  .........  1'  6" 


V.75 


The  above  description  is  intended  only  to  apply  to  the 
bank  situated  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  road  running 
eastward  across  Smith’s  Run. 


Chapter  VIII. 

§57.  The  Third  Tier  of  Townships. 

This  row  of  townships,  including  Slippery  Rock,  Cherry, 
Washington,  and  Parker  lies  north  of  the  tier  described  in 
Chapter  VII,  and  forms  a  row  extending  across  the  county 
from  west  to  east.  This  row,  and  the  range  north  of  it, 
consist  only  of  four  townships  each,  the  place  of  the  fifth 
being  cut  off  by  a  truncation  of  the  northwestern  corner  of 
the  county  by  the  Lawrence  and  Mercer  county  lines. 

The  highest  land  is  in  Washington  township,  on  the  great 
dividing  ridge,  going  west  of  which  the  summits  gradually 
become  lower  and  lower  until  at  Centerville  the  highest 
ridges  are  more  than  a  hundred  feet  lower  than  those  near 
North  Washington.  Eastward  the  descent  into  Bear  Creek 
Valley  is  quite  abrupt. 

The  Freeport  Upper  Coal  and  Limestone  are  caught  in 
the  high  lands  of  Parker  and  Washington  townships,  but 
in  Cherry  and  Slippery  Rock  township,  the  top  rock  is 
usually  the  Freeport  Lower  Sandstone.  In  the  former  lo¬ 
cality  the  Freeport  Lower  Coal  bed  is  locally  a  very  thick 
seam,  and  has  been  mined  quite  largely,  but  it  is  to  the 
Kittanning  coal  beds  that  we  must  look  for  a  future  sup¬ 
ply  of  fuel  for  these  townships. 

The  Clarion  Group  lies  near  water  level  on  most  of  the 
tributaries  to  Bear  Creek  and  the  Slippery  Rock,  but  is  not 
of  much  value,  though  in  some  places  a  large  quantity  of 
coal  has  been  mined  from  its  lower  bed.  On  Wolf  Creek, 
and  also  on  Bear  Creek,  the  horizon  of  the  Brookville  Coal  is 
occupied  by  the  Homewood  Sandstone,  but  in  the  country 
lying  between  these  streams  the  sandrock  sinks,  and  the 
coal  is  found  in  its  normal  position  and  of  workable  thick¬ 
ness. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  exposed  and  quarried  at 

(93) 


94  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CIIANCE. 


several  places  in  tliese  townships,  being  used  both  for  build¬ 
ing  and  agricultural  purposes.  It  seldom  carries  ore  thick 
enough  to  be  profitably  mined  or  stripped. 


§&?.  Slipper g  Boclc  Township. 

This  township  lies  in  the  forks  of  Wolf  and  Slippery 
Rock  Creeks,  and  has,  consequently,  suffered  severely  from 
erosion.  Its  highest  hills  seldom  exceed  an  elevation  of 
1300  feet,  and  the  average  height  of  this  area  is  not  more 
than  1150  feet  above  ocean  level. 

It  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  both  Brady  and  Worth 
townships,  and  adjoins  Mercer  and  Lawrence  counties  on 
the  northeast. 

The  soil  of  about  nine  tenths  of  its  area  is  formed  from 
the  outcrop  of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  measures,  and 
the  remaining  tenth  consists  of  the  bottom  lands  found  on 
Slippery  Rock  and  W olf  Creeks  and  their  branches.  These 
streams  generally  cut  down  to  the  top  of  the  Homewood 
Sandstone,  but  where  the  former  is  crossed  by  the  Harris- 
ville  anticlinal,  the  horizon  of  the  Mercer  Group  is  brought 
above  water  level. 

Much  excellent  farming  land  is  found  on  both  sides  of 
Slippery  Rock  Creek.  The  best  soil  occurs  at  from  thirty 
to  one  hundred  feet  above  water  level,  and  is  resultant  from 
the  presence  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone.  Though  this 
rock  is  not  thick  enough  to  form  a  typical  limestone  soil, 
its  presence  greatly  improves  the  land. 

The  Freeport  Lower  sandstone  is  caught  in  the  highest 
hilltops,  but  does  not  make  any  marked  topographical 
features,  being  usually  a  soft  shaly  rock,  yielding  to  erosion 
as  readily  as  shale  or  slate. 

Both  the  Kittanning  Middle  and  Upper  coal  beds  have 
been  opened  and  worked  for  many  years,  but  neither  of 
them  are  as  good  in  quality  as  they  are  in  Worth  and  Brady 
townships. 

The  best  development  of  the  Middle  Kittanning  is  found 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  township,  and  is  a  continu¬ 
ation  southward  of  the  Harrisville  Coal  Field. 

On  the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  Harvey  Hogg,  a  bed  of  coal 


SLIPPERY  ROCK  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  95 


measuring  about  three  feet  with  one  thin  parting  of  slate 
near  the  middle  was  opened  and  worked  several  years  ago, 
but  the  bank  has  long  been  closed.  The  same  bed  is  opened 
by  Mr.  Bingham,  Mr.  George  Christley,  and  Mrs.  Margaret 
Allen.  It  is  probably  the  same  with  ITarrisville  bed. 

It  has  also  been  opened  and  mined  quite  largely  from 
several  banks  situated  one  and  a  half  miles  due  north  from 
Centerville.  These  banks  are  located  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Harrisville  anticlinal  axis,  and  exhibit  quite  a  sharp 
north  dip.  Between  the  Weakley  Banks  on  the  south¬ 
east  and  the  ITayes  and  Gill  Banks  on  the  northwest  there 
is  a  north  dip  of  at  least  forty  feet.  These  openings  are  but 
one  half  mile  apart.  The  subjoined  measurements  and  the 
character  of  the  coal  prove  that  they  are  all  situated  on  the 
same  bed.  (See  Fig.  76.) 

R.  H.  Weakley  Bank.  Hayes 9  Bank. 

.  Shaly  slate  roof. 


Slaty  coal,  (draw  slate,) 

Coal, . 

Slate,  . 

Coal, . 


11" 
2" 
V 11" 


Total, . 3'  7"  3' 9" 

Fireclay  floor.  Fireclay  floor. 

The  coal  is  of  fair  quality,  and  mines  in  good  large  pieces 
from  those  parts  of  the  bed  that  have  sufficient  cover.  The  . 
Hayes  and  Gill  banks  are  probably  very  near  the  centre  of 
the  Harrisville  synclinal  trough. 

The  section  shown  in  Fig.  77,  compiled  from  exposures 
observed  on  the  road  to  New  Hope  Woolen  Mills,  shows 
the  relation  of  the  Kittanning  Lower  coals  to  the  Ferrifer¬ 
ous  Limestone.  The  latter  rock  was  not  well  exposed  on  the 
east  side  of  Wolf  creek,  and  its  thickness  could  not  be 
measured. 

Section  at  Hew  Hope  Woolen  Mills. 


Kittanning  Middle  coal, .  3' 

Concealed,  shale, . GO' 

Kittanning  Lower  (Ferriferous  ?)  coal,  2 ' 

Concealed, . 20' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . — 


V.77 


96  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

On  the  west  side  of  Wolf  Creek  the  section  shown  in 
Fig.  78  was  measured.  It  is  very  similar  to  the  preceding 
one,  but  shows  the  presence  of  an  additional  coal  coming 
in  beneath  the  Middle  Kittanning  Bed.  This  bed  was  only 
seen  at  one  place  on  the  road,  where  its  blossom  was  rather 
thin  and  indistinct,  and  it  may  possibly  be  a  slip  from  the 
latter  coal  bed.  It  appeared,  however  to  be  in  situ ,  and 


may  be  a  very  local  stratum. 

McKee  section. 

Kittanning  Middle  coal, . 3' 

Concealed — shale, . 16' 

Coal  blossom, . ? 

Concealed,  . 64' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 11' 

Blue  slate,  . 45' 

Homewood  SS.,  to  creek  level,  .  10' ) 
Homewood  SS.,  beneath  water  >•  15' 
level  . (seen,  ...  5' ) 


The  Kittanning  Middle  bed  has  been  opened  and  mined 
by  Hon.  David  McKee,  where  the  coal  measures  about 
three  feet.  At  the  time  this  bank  was  visited  its  mouth 
was  closed  and  no  examination  of  the  bed  could  be  made. 

A  short  distance  north  from  Mr.  McKee’s  residence,  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone  is  quarried  and  burnt.  Hearty  ten 
feet  of  the  stone  is  exposed,  and  from  the  character  of 
outcrop  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  bed  is  three  or  four  feet 
thicker.  The  quarry  is  an  old  one  and  yields  very  good 
lime,  but  the  kiln  is  new,  having  been  built  quite  recently. 

Neither  the  Scrubgrass  nor  the  Clarion  coal  bed  are  ex¬ 
posed  in  this  vicinity,  and  the  Brookville  bed  is  cut  out  by 
the  Homewood  Sandstone,  the  top  of  which  lies  only  forty 
or  forty-live  feet  beneath  the  limestone. 

At  the  bridge  over  Wolf  Creek  two  miles  south  from 
Hew  Hope  mills  the  Homewood  Sandstone  lies  thirty-five 
feet  above  water  level,  and  a  thin  coal  seam  belonging  to ' 
the  Mercer  group  is  seen  near  the  creek  bed. 

Mr.  McKniglit  gives  the  following, — (see  Fig.  79)  as  an 
approximately  correct  description  of  the  measures  exposed 
near  his  mill. 


V.  78 


SLIPPERY  ROCK  TOWNSHIP. 

MeKniglit  section . 

Coal  [Kittanning  Middle],  ....  3' 

Shale, . 60' 

Coal  [Kitt.  Lower  or  Ferriferous],  .  V  10" 

Shale, . 15' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 15' 

Coal  [Scrubgrass], . 2'  0" 

Shale,  . 40' 

Sandstone  [Homewood], . 15' 

Shale,  . 35' 

Coal  [Mercer]  at  water  level,  ...  1'  16" 

Two  miles  farther  down  the  creek,  there 
is  a  beautiful  exposure  of  the  Clarion 
Group,  in  an  almost  vertical  bank  on  the  west  side  of  the 
stream.  The  Clarion  bed  is  about  a  foot  and  a  half  thick 
and  lies  at  water  level.  It  is  of  excellent  quality  and  was 
for  many  years  dug  with  mattocks  from  the  creek  bed. 

The  Scrubgrass  Coal  was  seen  immediately  underlying 
the  limestone,  but  as  it  outcrop  was  inaccessible  on  account 
of  the  steepness  of  the  creek  bank,  its  thickness  was  esti¬ 
mated  by  the  eye. 

The  measurements  made  from  these  exposures  are  shown 
in  Fig.  SO,  as  follows : 

Wolf  Creek  section. 

Slate. 

Kittanning  Lower?  (Ferrif.  Coal?,)  2'  6"? 


Slate,  .  10' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 15' 

Scrubgrass  Coal, . 2'  6" 

Slate, . 30' 

Clarion  Coal,  . V  6" 


The  bed  overlying  the  limestone  by  only  ten  feet  was 
not  seen,  but  is  said  to  have  been  opened  at  several  places 
in  this  neighborhood.  It  lies  entirely  too  low  for  the 
Lower  Kittanning  bed,  and  is  probably  the  Ferriferous 
Coal.  If  it  be  identical  with  the  former,  we  can  only  ac- 
count  for  its  nearness  to  the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  by  sup¬ 
posing  that  an  ancient  erosion  denuded  the  shales  underly¬ 
ing  it. 


Y.  97 

V.79 


98  Y. 


EEPOET  OF  PEOGEESS  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


// 


// 


129 


12 


'Cree/c  level. 


The  Scrubgrass  bed  is  reported  to  yield  an  excellent  coal 
but  is  nearly  always  too  thin  too  mine.  It  is  quite  persist¬ 
ent  in  the  adjoining  portions  of  Mercer  and  Lawrence  coun¬ 
ties.* 

Going  southward  to  the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek,  a  distance 
of  about  two  miles,  the  stream  falls  nearly  as  much  as  the 
rocks  dip,  so  that  the  Limestone  is  there  V.  8 1 

found  twenty  feet  above  creek  level. 

The  section  shown  by  Fig.  81,  shows  the 
position  of  the  Kittanning  Upper  Coal  bed 
at  Mr.  Crocker’s  bank. 

Crocked  s  Coal  Bank  Section. 

Kittanning  Upper  coal, .  3'  3 

Concealed, . 129' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 12' 

Scrubgrass  Coal, .  1'  3 

Concealed  to  stream, . 19' 

Another  bank  has  been  opened  on  the  Thompson  farm,  a 

short  distance  from  the  Crocker  opening.  In  both  of  these 
banks  the  coal  is  quite  pyritous.  At  the  latter  opening  a 
measurement  gave :  (Fig.  82.) 

Crocker  s  Coal  Bank . 

Shale  roof. 

Coal, . 

Bone, . 

Coal, . 

Fireclay. 

A  comparison  of  the  above  measurement  with  that  of  the 
Kittanning  Middle  bed,  (Fig.  76,)  discloses  a  striking  simi¬ 
larity  in  structure  between  the  two  coals.  This  is  so  notice¬ 
able,  that  at  one  time  I  was  led  to  think  the  two  were  one 
and  the  same  bed,  but  the  Harrisville  Coal  is  only  from  70  to 
90  feet  above  the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  and  can  be  traced 
into  central  Butler  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Kittanning  Mid¬ 
dle  bed,  whereas  this  coal  lies  129  feet  above  the  limestone, 
and  occupies  therefore  the  horizon  of  the  Kittanning  Upper 

*The  Scrubgrass  coal,  as  already  indicated  in  Chapter  IV,  is  probably  a  split 
from  the  Clarion  coal  bed,  but  throughout  Mercer,  Lawrence  and  Venango 
counties  it  is  always  widely  separated  from  that  bed  and  must  be  regarded  as 
a  separate  seam. 


l'O" 

i" 

2'  2" 


V.8  2 


r.c. 


SLIPPERY  ROCK  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  99 


coal  as  seen  at  Stone  Honse  and  many  otlier  places  in  tlie 
county. 

The  Kittanning  Upper  coal  is  also  opened 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  township  on 
the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  John  Keister  where 
it  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
above  the  Ferriferous  limestone  as  shown  in 
Fig.  83. 

Keister  Section. 

Massive  (Freeport  Lower)  sand¬ 
stone,  . 20'  to  30' 

Shale, . 0'  to  10' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, .  3' 

Concealed, .  125' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, .  10'  (?) 


126 


7d 


The  Ferriferous  Limestone  has  been  laid  bare  at  several 
places  in  this  neighborhood,  but  its  total  thickness  could 
nowhere  be  seen.  It  always  measures  at  least  seven  or 
eight  feet,  and  probably  in  some  places  is  very  much  thicker. 
A  quarry  is  now  in  operation  on  the  Wigton  farm  not  far 
from  Keister’s  Mill.  The  bed  plates  there  show  their  usual 
irregularly  undulating  surfaces. 

About  two  miles  farther  down  the  Slip¬ 
pery  Rock,  at  Wick’s  Mills  the  section 
shown  in  Fig.  84  was  compiled. 

Section  at  Wields  Mills. 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal, .  3' 

Partly  concealed, .  75' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, .  15' 

Scrubgrass  Coal,  reported. 

Concealed, .  60' 

Coal — Brookville  Bed,  .  2' 

Homewood  SS.  to  water  level,  ...  10' 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  is  opened  north  of  the  mill, 
by  Mr.  Geo.  Christley.  The  Ferriferous  Limestone  has 
been  quarried  in  the  hollow  close  to  this  bank,  and  in  many 
other  places  in  the  same  vicinity.  Its  outcrop  is  also  fre¬ 
quently  seen  on  the  roads  in  this  neighborhood,  and  in  nearly 
all  of  the  hollows  running  up  from  the  creek. 


V.  B4 


73 


m 

■LUil 


60 


m 


100  Y. 


REPORT  OE  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


On  the  road  close  to  Wick’s  mill  the  outcrop  of  a  coal  bed 
is  exposed,  which  lies  in  the  horizon  of  the  Brookville  Bed. 
It  is  apparently  about  two  feet  thick.  Beneath  it  is  the 
Homewood  Sandstone,  which  is  here  a  rather  irregularly 
bedded  rock. 

§59.  The  Wolf  Creelc  Oil  and  Salt  Testing  Company. 

The  subjoined  record  of  a  well  drilled  by  this  company 
in  search  of  oil,  gas,  or  salt  water,  was  furnished  by  Mr. 
Kingsbury,  of  Centerville. 

The  company  started  their  first  well  in  1870,  but  after 
drilling  it  to  a  depth  of  from  800  to  900  feet,  a  heavy  flow 
of  gas  was  struck,  which  effectually  stopped  them  from 
drilling  any  deeper.  The  tools  got  fast  in  the  hole,  and  two 
sets  of  fishing  tools  were  lost  in  the  well  before  it  was  finally 
abandoned.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  the  gas  threw  a 
column  of  water  over  one  hundred  feet  above  the  derrick 
floor.  It  was  subsequently  used  in  drilling  their  Ko.  2 
well,  which  was  started  the  succeeding  year,  and  of  which 
the  following  is  claimed  to  be  a  correct  record  : 

Wolf  Creek  Well  Wo.  2.  (Fig.  85 ,  Plate  VI.) 

Drilled  in  1871.  Located  in  a  hollow  near  Wolf  Creek, 
two  miles  northwest  of  Centreville.  Commences  to  drill 
in  the  Ferriferous  Limestone. 

Conductor — in  limestone, . • .  6' to  6 

Slate  and  shale, . 102  to  108 

Sand, . 35  to  143 

Slate, . 20  to  163 

Sandstone, . 157  to  320 

Slate,  . 105  to  425 

Sandstone, . 35  to  460 

Shale,  .  200  to  660 

Sandstone, . 


95  to  755 


Sandstone, 
Bed  Bock , 


.  80  to  835 


Sandstone,  (measured  at  846',) 
Slate, . 


.  11  to  846 
.  231  to  1077 


Shell — oil  show,  (measured  at  (1080') .  5  to  10S2 


CHERRY  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  101 


Shale,' . 50  to  1132 

Grey  Sandstone, . 20  to  1152 

Slate, . 90  to  1242 

Red  (slate  ?)  (measured  at  1300',) . SO  to  1322 

Black  Slate, . 100'  to  1422 


% .  1  to  1423 

Total  depth  of  well,  (measured,) . .  1423 

Cased  at  540'.  Xo  oil  was  obtained,  though  a  slight  show 
was  found  in  a  shell  at  1080  ft.  The  gas  is  still  flowing, 
though  quite  feebly.  The  casing  has  been  drawn  from  the 
well. 

The  principal  geological  features  shown  by  this  record 
will  be  discussed  in  Part  II.  Mention  is  also  made  of  its 
bearing  upon  the  geology  of  the  oil  rocks  of  Western  But¬ 
ler,  in  Chap.  X. 


§  60.  Cherry  Township. 

This  township  lies  east  of  Slippery  Rock,  and  north  of 
Clay  township.  Its  summits  are  somewhat  higher  than 
those  of  the  former,  but  its  surface  is  rendered  quite  irreg¬ 
ular  by  the  many  valleys  and  ravines  cut  by  the  Slippery 
Rock  and  its  tributaries.  The  two  branches  of  this  stream 
run  through  it,  and  enclose  between  them  a  very  high  sharp 
ridge,  which  ends  in  an  abrupt  nose  at  their  junction,  near 
the  western  line  of  the  township. 

Much  bottom  land  is  found  on  both  branches  of  the  Slip¬ 
pery  Rock,  but  this  is  especially  noticeable  on  the  north 
branch. 

The  highest  rock  of  the  township  (excepting,  perhaps,  a 
small  area  near  its  southern  line,  where  the  Upper  Freeport 
coal  is  caught  in  the  highest  land,)  is  the  Upper  Freeport 
Sandstone,  and  the  lowest  is  the  IIomewrood  Sandstone — 
the  top  of  the  Beaver  River  or  Conglomerate  Series.  The 
latter  rock  is  frequently  seen  near  water  level,  along  Slip¬ 
pery  Rock  creek  and  its  branches.  A  short  distance  above 
it  some  trace  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  can  usually  be 
detected,  but  the  actual  outcrop  of  this  stratum  is  only 
seen  in  a  few  places. 


102  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Tlie  section  shown  in  Fig.  86  was  made  from  exposures 
observed  in  the  ridge,  at  the  continence  of  the  north  and 
south  branches  of  Slippery  Rock  creek. 

Section  at  Slippery  Bock  Forks. 


Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .  . 

Concealed,  . 

Kit  tanning  Lower  Coal,  .  . 

Concealed,  . 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  .  . 
Shale  and  shaly  sandstone,  . 

Clarion  Coal, . 

Shale  and  shaly  sandstone,  . 
Homewood  Sandstone,  massive,  to 
flat,  ............. 


blossom. 

50' 

blossom. 

30' 

10'  to  15' 

20' 

2'  10" 
15' 


30' 


The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  was  only  seen  at  its  outcrop 
on  the  road.  One  mile  and  a  half  east  of  this  locality,  near 
the  South  Branch  the  bed  is  opened  and  mined  on  the  Gal¬ 
loway  farm,  where  a  measurement  gave  the  structure  shown 
by  Fig.  87. 

Galloway  coal  bank. 

Thin  bedded  sandy  shale  roof. 

Coal, . 1'  11" 

Slate, .  2" 

Coal,  (seen,) .  6" 

It  is  of  fair  quality,  but  mines  in  quite  small  pieces.  The 
same  bed  is  also  opened  on  the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  B.  Gross- 
man,  and  shows  about  2'  6"  of  good  coal,  with  but  little 
slate  or  sulphur.  Near  Five  Points  Mr.  Perry  has  a  bank 
on  what  appears  to  be  the  same  seam,  but  it  is  most  prob¬ 
ably  the  Upper  Kittanning  coal.  Its  mouth  is  now  closed, 
and  no  examination  of  the  coal  was  possible. 

The  smut  of  the  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  is  seen  in  several 
places  on  the  road  near  Mr.  Bryan' s  house,  but  is  too  thin 
to  be  of  any  value.  It  lies  from  30  to  35  feet  above  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone.  The  latter  rock  is  finely  exposed 
in  an  excavation  made  for  laying  a  foundation,  near  the 
residence  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Bryan,  who  says  that  its  total  thick¬ 
ness  is  14  or  15  feet. 

In  the  summer  of  1877  a  well  was  drilled  for  oil  on  the 


CHEERY  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  103 


fiat  between  the  creek  and  Mr.  Bryan’s  house.  It  started 
at  about  70  feet  below  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  and  is  said 
to  be  1180  feet  deep.  No  record  was  kept  of  the  strata 
passed  through  ;  no  oil  or  gas  was  found. 

The  Clarion  Coal  bed  has  been  opened  at  a  bank  near 
School  House  No.  4  a  short  distance  northwest  from  the 
mouth  of  McMurry’s  Run.  No  coal  has  been  taken  from 
it  for  some  time  past,  and  the  entry  is  now  partly  closed. 
A  measurement  made  near  its  mouth  gave  (see  Fig.  88.) 

Cherry  T.  S 'ch.  House  bank. 

Sandstone  roof. 

Draw  slate, .  3" 

Coal, . 2'  6" 

Slate, .  1" 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  coal  is  of  medium  quality,  and  were  it  a  little  thicker 
mining  from  it  would  be  profitable. 

On  the  road  leading  south  from  Annandale,  and  between 
that  town  and  the  South  Branch  of  Slippery  Rock  Creek, 
the  exposures  shown  by  Fig.  89  were  observed. 


Annandale  section. 

Kittanning  Lower  Coal — blossom,  iy  to  2' 


Concealed, . 23  to  30' 

Hard  massive  sandstone,  ....  15' 

Concealed, .  15' 

Clarion  Coal — blossom, .  2' 

Concealed  to  Creek,  ....  10' 


V.89 


? 

30 

A-a 

eey 

? 

13 

2 

No  trace  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  could  be  detected. 
It  is  apparently  cut  out  by  an  ancient  erosion  and  its  place 
filled  by  the  lower  part  of  the  hard  massive  sandstone  that 
lies  fifteen  feet  above  the  Clarion  coal  bed. 

The  latter  bed  is  opened  by  Mr.  Robert  Black  one  mile 
southwest  of  Annandale  where  the  coal  is  rather  poor, 
containing  many  thin  layers  of  slate  from  the  thickness  of 
a  sheet  of  paper  to  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  Other  exposures 
observed  in  this  vicinity  give  the  section  illustrated  by 
Fig.  90: 


104  Y. 


IiEPORT  OF  Pit OG HESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Section  at  Black' s  bank. 
Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  .  . 

Concealed, . 

Clarion  coal,  . 

Concealed, 


V.90 


I Y2 


? 

7 


20 


....  12' 

....  20' 

....  3' 

....  10' 

Homewood  Sandstone,  (seen,)  .  .  10'  to  15' 

Black' s  coal  bank.  {Fig.  91.) 

Sliale  roof. 

Coal,  bone,  and  slate  mixed,  ....  9" 

Coal, . 2'  5" 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  lias  been  quarried  and  burnt 
on  the  place  owned  by  Mr.  McGregor,  where  about  eight 
feet  of  the  stone  can  be  seen,  but  at  an  outcrop  on  the  road 
near  Mr.  Black’s  fully  twelve  feet  of  it  is  laid  bare.  It 
yields  a  very  fair  lime,  but  lias  not  been  quarried  very 
largely. 

The  Kittanning  Upper  Coal  is  opened  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  township,  near  Five  Points,  by  Mr.  II.  D.  Hock- 
enberry,  at  whose  bank  the  bed  exhibits  the  structure 
shown  by  Fig.  92  : 

Hockenberry  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Draw  slate, . .  .  3" 

Cannel  coal, .  9" 

Slate, .  2" 


Cannel  and  bituminous  coal,  .  .  .  .  V  9" 

The  quality  of  this  coal  is  very  poor,  and  but  little  of  it 
has  been  taken  out.  The  lower  bench  is  composed  of  alter¬ 
nating  layers  of  mineral  charcoal,  cannel  coal  and  bitumi¬ 
nous  coal. 

Its  position  with  reference  to  the  underlying  strata,  is 
shown  in  Fig.  93. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  exposed  near  water  level  at 
a  quarry  situated  on  the  road  running  east  from  Five 
Points,  and  a  few  rods  east  of  the  Cherry  township  line. 
It  will  be  described  in  connection  with  the  geology  of  Wash¬ 
ington  township.  A  short  distance  from  this  quarry  the 
smut  of  the  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  was  seen  on  the  road,  at 


CHEEKY  TOWNSHIP. 


y.  105 


V.  93 


an  elevation  of  45  feet  above  the  top  of  the 
limestone.  It  is  too  thin  to  mine. 

Section  at  Flee  Points. 

Coal  blossom — “  Currie  Local  Coal,”  thin. 

Sandstone  and  shale  (Freeport  SS.)  .  50' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, . 8' 

Shale — containing  Kifct.  Mid.  Coal,  .  05'  (?) 

Kittanning  Lower  Coal, . V  Q>" 

Sandstone  and  shale, . 45' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 10' 

The  interval  between  the  Kittanning  Up¬ 
per  and  Lower  Coal  beds  is  possibly  a  little 
larger  than  the  thickness  assigned  it  in  the 
above  section,  and  an  addition  of  about  ten  feet  to  correct 
for  the  error  occasioned  by  dip,  would  probably  make  the 
section  more  accurate.  Near  the  summit  of  the  road  lead¬ 
ing  to  Five  Points,  a  thin  coal  seam  outcrops,  which  is 
rather  too  low  for  the  Freeport  Lower  coal,  and  is  probably 
the  representative  of  the  Currie  Local  bed.  It  overlies  the 
Kittanning  Upper  Coal  about  fifty  feet. 


§  61.  Washington  Township. 

This  township  lies  east  of  Cherry  and  north  of  Concord 
township. 

It  is  nearly  all  occupied  by  high  land,  with  summits 
ranging  from  1500  to  1575  feet  above  ocean  level.  The  only 
low  lands  it  contains  are  found  in  the  valleys  of  the  north 
and  south  branches  of  Slippery  Pock  Creek,  in  the  north¬ 
ern  and  southwestern  portions  of  the  township. 

The  Allegheny  and  Beaver  dividing  ridge,  runs  through 
it,  passing  close  to  North  Washington  and  Annisville,  with 
a  branch  divide  sweeping  off  to  the  west  from  Parsonville 
between  the  waters  of  the  two  branches  of  Slippery  Pock 
Creek. 

There  is  some  quite  good  farming  land  on  the  summit 
ridges,  some  of  which  is  greatly  improved  by  the  disinte¬ 
gration  of  the  Upper  Freeport  Limestone.  The  soil  occu¬ 
pying  the  side  hill  slopes  is  seldom  a  satisfactory  one  to  cul- 


106  Y.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

tivate,  being  formed  principally  from  the  outcrop  of  the 
Freeport  Sandstone. 

The  township  contains  within  its  limits  all  of  the  rocks 
of  the  Upper  Productive  Coal  Measures,  from  the  Upper 
Freeport  coal,  which  occurs  on  the  highest  summits,  down 
to  the  Homewood  Sandstone,  which  is  frequently  exposed 
in  the  valley  of  the  North  Branch. 

The  Freeport  Upper  Coal  is  caught  in  nearly  all  the  sum¬ 
mits,  but  is  never  of  workable  thickness,  and  often  so  thin 
that  its  presence  can  scarcely  be  detected,  and  sometimes 
no  trace  of  it  can  be  discovered. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Coal  has  an  enormous  thickness  at 
North  Washington,  sometimes  measuring  nine  feet  of  solid 
coal.  A  development  similar  to  this  is  described  in  the  re¬ 
port  upon  Parker  township,  where  this  coal  is  sometimes 
thirteen  or  fourteen  feet  thick.  Over  most  of  the  town¬ 
ship,  the  bed  is  from  two  to  four  feet  thick,  and  of  medium 
to  fair  quality. 

The  Currie  Local  Coal  has  a  limited  area  of  workable 
thickness,  southwest  of  North  Washington. 

The  Kittanning  Upper  Coal  is  present  as  a  valuable  bed 
of  cannel  coal.  It  is  rather  thin,  but  of  excellent  quality. 
The  following  analysis  was  made  by  Mr.  McCreath,  from 
a  sample  of  this  coal  as  prepared  for  sale  at  the  banks.  The 
bed  lias  a  similar  character  in  the  vicinity  of  Murrinsville, 
in  Marion  and  Venango  townships,  but  in  both  these  local¬ 
ities  its  extent  is  quite  local,  and  the  available  area  com¬ 
paratively  small : 

McGarveij  Cannel  Coal . 


Water, .  1.610 

Volatile  matter, .  40.300 

Fixed  carbon, .  49.456 

Sulphur, .  .739 

Ash,  (cream  color,) .  7.895 


100.000 

Per  cent,  coke,  .  58.090 


The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  is  not  usually  a  bed  of 
workable  size  in  this  township. 


WASHINGTON  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  107 


Tlie  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  is  from  one  and  a  half  to 
two  and  a  half  feet  thick,  and  is  not  being  worked  within 
the  township  limits  at  present,  but  in  the 
future  will  probably  prove  quite  valuable. 

It  lies  about  forty  feet  above  the  Ferriferous 
limestone. 

The  Brookville  and  Clarion  Coal  beds 


are  found  near  water  level  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  township,  on  Slippery  Rock 
creek,  where  they  have  been  opened  by  Mr. 
Burnett,  who  has  kindly  furnished  the  fol¬ 
lowing  section  (shown  in  Fig.  04)  which 
compiled  on  the  south  bank  of  the  creek : 

Burnett  south  Section. 


“  Earth  and  slate,  .  .  .  . 

...  60' 

Coal, . 

...  3' 

Slate,  . 

...  90' 

Coal, . 

.  .  .  3' 10" 

Slate,  . 

.  .  .  120' 

Coal, . 

...  2' 

Slate,  . 

...  32' 

Coal, . . 

.  .  .  3'  10"” 

The  lowest  coal  of  the  above  section  has  been  opened.  It 
is  quite  free  from  sulphur,  and  much  cleaner  than  the  bed 


worked  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek.  This 
bed  is  probably  the  Brookville,  and  the  one 
overlying  it  the  Clarion  Coal  bed,  but  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  from  the 
section  makes  this  identification  rather  un¬ 
certain.  The  bed  overlying  them  120  feet 
is  evidently  the  Middle  Kittanning,  but  its 
thickness  is  probably  ever  estimated. 

Burnett  north  Section. 
u  Earth  and  slate, . 90' 


V.95 


Coal, 

Slate, 

Coal, 

Slate, 

Coal, 


3' 

100' 

2' 

35' 

5'  6"” 


10S  Y. 


REPORT  OE  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Mr.  Burnett  gives  the  section  shown  in  Fig.  95,  as  a  de¬ 
scription  of  the  measures  found  on  the  north  side  of  the 
creek. 

The  lowest  coal  bed  of  this  section  is  opened  and  worked. 
A  large  amount  of  coal  has  been  taken  out,  and,  though  it 
is  rather  pyritous,  has  found  a  ready  sale  for  rolling-mill 
and  boiler  use  at  Cleveland,  where  it  is  sliipxsed  by  the  Slie- 
nango  and  Allegheny  R.  R.  Near  the  centre  of  the  bed  is 
a  bad  bony  parting  about  three  inches  thick,  but  the  bed 
is  such  a  large  one  that  it  can  be  profitably  mined,  notwith¬ 
standing  these  drawbacks. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Coal  is  opened  at  Smiths’  Bank,  half 
a  mile  northwest  from  North  Washington,  where  it  has  an 
abnormal  size.  It  has  been  worked  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years  or  more,  and  during  that  time  a  very  large  amount 
of  coal  has  been  mined  from  it.  Several  drifts  have  been 
driven  in,  but  one  after  another  has  fallen  shut,  and  at 
Xiresent  there  is  but  one  entry  in  good  condition.  This  is 
well  built  and  high  enough  to  allow  the  use  of  mules  in 
the  bank. 

In  some  parts  of  the  old  workings  the  bed  contains  nine 
feet  of  solid  coal  with  no  partings  of  slate  or  bone,  but  its 
average  thickness  is  from  six  and  a  half  to  seven  feet.  A 
bad  horseback  was  encountered  in  one  part  of  the  bank, 
but  it  has  been  cut  through  and  is  not  of  very  great  width. 

In  that  part  of  the  hill  from  which  the  coal  is  now  being 
mined,  it  shows  the  structure  represented  in  Fig.  96. 

Smith ’  s  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Draw  slate,  . 4/r  to  6" 

Coal,  (sulphury,) .  2' 6" 

Coal,  fair, .  4'  5" 

Slate, . F  to  1  '6" 

Fireclay. 

The  upper  bench  is  quite  variable  in  thick¬ 
ness,  and  of  inferior  quality,  being  rather  pyritous  and 
filled  with  thin  slaty  laminae.  Uj)  to  the  x>resent  time  it 
has  usually  been  left  in  the  bank  as  a  roof. 

The  lowTer  bench  is  of  good  quality  and  mines  in  very 


V.  96 


WASHINGTON  TOWNSHIP. 


y.  109 


large,  compact  lumps.  It  is  mucli  more  constant  in  thick¬ 
ness  than  tlie  former,  ranging  from  four  to  five  feet,  and 
never  measuring  less  than  four  feet  except  where  cut  out 
by  the  horseback. 

This  bed  has  been  sought  after  in  all  of  the  surrounding 
hills,  but  it  is  everywhere  much  thinner  than  at  the  Smith 
Bank,  showing  that  this  abnormal  development  is  quite  cir¬ 
cumscribed,  and  that  it  can  have  no  connection  with  the 
similar  development  occurring  in  Parker  township.  In  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  township  it  is  often  seen  in  blos¬ 
som  on  the  roadside,  but  is  nearly  always  too  thin  to  be  of 
any  value. 


V.S  7 


F.C. 


§  62.  North  Washington  Cannel  Coal. 

This  bed  is  the  same  with  the  Kittanning  Upper  Coal, — 
the  Darlington  Cannel  Coal  of  Report  Q.  It  is  the  best 
coal  found  in  this  township. 

The  area  over  which  it  of  workable  size  is  quite  small, 
and  is  situated  about  one  mile  south  by  west  from  North 
Washington. 

It  underlies  the  Freeport  Upper  Lime¬ 
stone  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  to  one 
hundred  and  forty-live  feet,  and  is  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  above  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone  as  determined  from 
the  Jack  Farm  Gas  Well  record. 

North  Washington  section. 

Freeport  Upper  Limestone,  .  . 

Concealed:  with  fireclay  and 

balls,  . 

Freeport  Lower  Coal, . 

Concealed  (Freeport  SS.)  . 

Kittanning  Upper  (Cannel)  Coal, 

Unknown,  in  gas  well ,  .  . 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  in  well, 

The  section  illustrated  by  Fig.  97,  shows 
its  position  in  the  measures.  The  Lower 
Freeport  Coal  in  this  description  lies  some- 


1 

D.5 

.  .  3 ' 

ore 

.  .  40' 

4'  to  9' 

.  .  05' 

.  .  2' 

p 

.  .  125' 

?  g  125 

110  Y. 


PEPOPT  OF  PPOGPESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE.  ' 


wliat  higher  than  its  usual  place  in  the  measures,  giving 
about  twenty  feet  more  space  to  the  Freeport  Lower  Sand¬ 
stone  than  that  rock  generally  occupies. 

The  following  gentlemen  have  opened  banks  upon  the 
cannel  coal  bed:  Mr.  Win.  C.  Graham,  Mr.  Henry  Shain, 
Mr.  McGarvey  (2)  and  Mr.  I).  F.  Campbell. 

The  subjoined  measurements, — illustrated  by  Fig.  98, — 
show  the  structure  of  the  bed. 

McGarvey  Banlc  No.  1. 

Cannel  Slate, .  3"  to  1'  10" 

Cannel  Coal, . 1'  10"  to  2'  4" 

Slate  (floor) . 

Banlc  No.  0. 

Cannel  slate, . 4"  to  V  0" 


2'  3" 
3" 
2" 
3" 
2" 


Cannel  coal, 

Slate  (floor)  .  . 

Coal  (reported) 

Slate 

Coal  “ 

Fireclay. 

It  has  usually  a  changeable  roof  of  sandstone  or  slate. 
The  coal  has  a  clean,  slightly  conchoidal  fracture,  but 
mines  in  nearly  cubical  blocks,  contains  a  very  small  per¬ 
centage  of  sulphur,  and  leaves  but  a  moderate  amount  of 
ash.  An  analysis  of  a  specimen  taken  from  the  McGarvey 
Bank  Ho.  1  has  already  been  given  on  page  106. 

The  same  bed  is  opened  in  the  southwestern  corner  of 
the  township  by  a  new  bank  on  the  farm  owned  by  Mr. 
Wm.  C.  Glenn  where  a  measurement  gave  the  structure 
shown  in  Fig.  99. 

Glenn  coal  banlc. 

Slaty  shale  roof. 

Semi-can nel  coal, .  6" 

Thin  bony  parting, . — 

Coal, . V  6" 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  coal  is  of  fair  quality,  and  mines  very  nicely  though 
the  entry  is  in  but  a  short  distance.  In  some  places  the 
upper  bench  becomes  a  true  cannel  coal,  but  it  is  usually 


WASHINGTON  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  Ill 


of  a  semi-cannel  character  and  rather  poor  quality.  This 
bed  is  undoubtedly  the  same  with  the  North  Washington 


Cannel  coal  bed.  The  measurements  given 
in  Fig.  100  were  made  near  this  bank. 

Section  near  Glenn]  s  bank. 

Freeport  Lower  Coal, . blossom. 

Concealed,  with  slialy  sandstone,  70' 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal, .  2' 

Concealed — shale, .  30' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal, .  3' 


V.I00 


The  Kittanning  Middle  bed  was  opened  some  years  ago, 
by  an  old  bank  one  mile  north  from  the  Glenn  opening. 
This  coal  was  found  at  a  depth  of  thirty  feet  in  digging  a 
water  well  near  the  latter  bank,  and  underlies  it  thirty  to 
thirty-five  feet. 

The  blossom  of  the  Freeport  Lower  Coal  was  seen  near 
the  summit  of  the  road.  It  is  hardly  of  workable  size. 

The  Kittanning  Upper  Coal  was  opened  some  years  ago 
near  Mr.  Christy’s  house,  two  miles  west  of  North  Wash¬ 
ington,  but  the  bank  has  long  since  fallen  shut,  and  no  ex¬ 
amination  of  it  could  be  made.  The  character  of  the  coal 
is  probably  similar  to  that  found  in  the  Hockenberry  open¬ 
ing  near  Five  Points  in  Cherry  township. 

On  the  road  running  from  North  Wash¬ 
ington  to  Five  Points,  the  exposures  meas¬ 
ured  were — (Fig.  101 :) 

Section  west  of  W.  Washington. 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal,  .  . . 3'  (?) 

Concealed,  . 65' 

Kittanning  Lower  Coal, . 2 ' 

Concealed — sandy  shale, . 45' 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 10' 

A  quarry  is  opened  on  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  near 
the  bridge  over  the  South  Branch  of  Slippery  Pock  Creek. 
Only  six  or  eight  feet  of  the  stone  is  visible,  but  its  total 
thickness  is  about  10  to  12  feet. 


112  V. 


HEP  OUT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


§  63.  The  Jacle  Farm  Gas  Well. 

This  well  is  located  on  the  Jack  Farm,  near  the  Butler 
road,  and  about  half  a  mile  south  of  North  Washington. 
The  derrick  floor  is  but  a  few  feet  below  the  mouth  of  an 
old  coal  bank  on  the  Lower  Freeport  Coal  Bed. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  was  reached  at  a  depth  of  205 
feet,  and  gas  was  struck  in  the  “ Fourth”  Sand  near  the 
bottom  of  the  well,  which  is  said  to  be  over  1,500  feet  deep. 
No  record  could  be  obtained  of  the  strata  passed  through  ; 
probably  none  was  kept. 

When  the  gas  was  first  struck  it  was  sufficient  to  fire  two 
large  pumping  stations,  but  has  since  then  greatly  dimin¬ 
ished.  It  is  at  present  used  in  the  pumping  station  of  the 
United  Pipe  lines  north  of  town,  where  it  is  conveyed 
through  pipe-line  pipe  laid  for  that  purpose. 

This  well  is  an  isolated  one,  and  the  reservoir  of  gas  from 
which  it  draws  its  supply  can  have  no  other  vent,  unless  we 
admit  the  possibility  of  an  unobstructed  connection  between 
the  sandrock  here  and  that  of  the  oil  producing  area  a,t 
Fairview  or  Martinsburg,  five  miles  away.  We  should  not 
have  expected  therefore  that  the  supply  would  decrease  (as 
reported)  one  half  in  quantity  in  one  year. 

The  gas  well  on  McMurry’ s  Run  in  Marion  township  is 
also  an  instance  of  an  isolated  well  rapidly  falling  away  in 
production.  In  this  case  we  may  partly  attribute  its  de¬ 
crease  to  the  presence  of  a  large  body  of  fresh  water  which 
constantly  flows  into  the  well  from  a  stratum  above  the  gas 
rock. 


§  6  1^.  The  Rumbaugh  Oil  Wells. 

The  well  now  pumping  is  situated  on  the  Rumbaugh 
Farm  two  miles  northwest  from  North  Washington,  and 
commenced  to  drill  at  about  five  feet  above  the  Upper  Kit¬ 
tanning  Coal  bed.  The  Ferriferous  Limestone  was  struck 
at  125  feet,  and  the  oil  bearing  rock  at  either  1265  or  1365 
feet.  The  former  depth  is  probably  the  correct  one. 

Mr.  Wm.  Shira  who  owns  and  resides  upon  the  adjoining 
farm,  states  that  the  First  or  Old  Rumbaugh  Well  was 


WASHINGTON  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  113 


drilled  in  1873,  at  tlie  t  ime  that  the  Troutman  Well  was  be¬ 
ing  drilled  at  Modoc  City ;  that  oil  was  found  at  1375  to 
1380  feet,  but  that  the  well  was  drilled  to  a  depth  of  1090 
feet  with  no  increase.  The  oil  rock  found  at  1375  (?)  feet 
(1275  ?)  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  loose  pebbly  sand.  The 
well  was  pumped  for  several  weeks  and  yielded  about  seven 
barrels  per  day  from  this  horizon,  but  as  the  oil  had  to 
be  hauled  to  Parker,  and  as  the  price  of  oil  was  not  suffi¬ 
cient  to  pay  the  expense  of  teaming  and  punrping  the  well 
was  abandoned. 


Three  dry  holes  have  been  put  down  in  this  vicinity  ;  one 
on  the  Thompson,  and  one  on  the  Hilliard  Farm,  and  one 
on  the  South  Branch  of  Slippery  Hock  Creek.  They  are 
all  located  west  of  the  “belt  line”  on  which  the  Rumbaugh 
wells  are  located. 


Two  years  ago  Messrs.  Tj  umbull  and  Croll,  tirm  in  the 
belief  that  a  good  sand  was  found  in  the  old  well,  and  en¬ 
couraged  by  the  high  price  of  oil,  started  and  finished  the 
second  well  on  the  Rumbaugh  Farm,  which  is  the  one  now 
producing.  It  is  said  to  yield  from  three  to  four  barrels 
per  day.  This  well  is  also  located  west  of 
the  old  well.  It  is  possible  that  in  the  future 
oil  may  yet  be  found  in  paying  quantities  in 
this  neighborhood,  but  if  any  good  wells 
are  obtained,  it  seems  most  probable  that 
they  will  be  found  east  of  the  line  on  which 

the  old  well  is  situated. 

\ 

Rumbaugh  section. 

Shale, .  10' 

Freeport  Upper  limestone, . 

Concealed, . 

Freeport  Lower  coal,  .  . . 

Concealed  to  well  month,  containing  hard  ) 
massive  Freeport  sandstone,  .  .  .  20'  f 

Shale, . 

Kittanning  Upper  coal, . 

Unknown — in  well, .  117'  ^ 

>  |||iiiiniiiiiiiiinii"iiiii|i 

Ferriferous  limestone.  ikrr.zimes. 

|  in 

^  "V*  Jfumbaugh  Well. 


3' 

35' 

3' 

30' 


o' 

o 


117 


114  V. 


EEPOET  OF  PEOGEESS.  II.  M.  CIIAKCE. 


The  section  shown  in  Fig.  102,  was  compiled  from  expo¬ 
sures  near  the  well  on  the  Shira  and  Rumbaugh  farms. 

The  oil  is  of  45°  gravity  (Baum6),  green  in  color,  and  very 
much  resembles  the  Oil  Creek  oil,  having  a  lighter  and  more 
decidedly  greenish  tinge  than  either  the  Butler  or  Bullion 
oil. 

The  Kittanning  Upper  coal  bed  is  opened  at  two  banks 
on  the  Rumbaugh  farm,  close  to  the  pumping  well,  and 
about  five  feet  below  its  mouth.  The  coal  is  rather  soft  and 
slaty,  but  is  said  to  burn  very  freely.  It  measures  :  (Fig. 
103.) 

Rumbaugh  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Coal, .  10" 

Slate,  .  3" 

Coal, . 1'  6" 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  Freeport  Lower  coal  was  opened  in  a  bank,  on  the 
Shira  farm,  where  it  is  reported  to  be  from  3'  to  3'  6"  thick. 
The  bank  is  now  closed,  and  no  measurement  of  the  bed 
could  be  made.  Mr.  Shira  says  that  it  is  quite  pyritous, 
but  contains  little  or  no  slate. 

The  presence  of  the  Upper  Freeport  limestone  is  shown 
by  nodules  and  fragments  on  the  road,  and  scattered  over 
the  fields  at  the  height  of  about  thirty -five  feet  above  the 
coal  bank.  The  Upper  Freeport  coal  is  not  caught  in  these 
hills,  but  it  may  be  found  in  the  small  round  top  near 
Mr.  Shira’ s  house. 


V.  103 


F.C. 


§  65.  Parker  Township. 

This  township  lies  north  of  Fairview  and  east  of  Wash¬ 
ington  townships,  and  adjoins  Perry  township,  of  Arm¬ 
strong  county,  on  the  east. 

Its  central  and  western  portions  are  occupied  by  high 
land,  but  the  contour  of  its  surface  is,  in  general,  quite 
irregular,  being  gorged  by  the  ravines  of  many  small  tribu¬ 
taries  to  Bear  creek  and  its  branches. 

The  valley  of  the  North  branch  of  Bear  creek  is  a  sharp, 


PARKER  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  115 


deeply  cut  ravine,  exposing  tlie  measures  underlying  tlie 
Homewood  sandstone.  The  South  branch  has  eroded  down 
to  the  same  rock  at  Martinsburg.  From  the  latter  locality, 
eastward,  the  stream  falls  quite  rapidly,  so  that  at  Don¬ 
nelly  station,  near  the  county  line,  it  runs  over  the  middle 
portion  of  the  Conglomerate  series  (No.  XII)  or  “  Mountain 
Sand  group.” 

The  “ Fourth  sand  oil  belt”  does  not  touch  the  township, 
but  the  4  *  Third  sand  belt”  traverses  it  from  Lawrenceburg 
to  Argyle,  in  a  straight  line,  bearing  S.  22°  W.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Martinsburg,  much  oil  has  been  obtained 
from  the  “Thirty  foot  rock,”  and  some  has  also  been  found 
in  the  “Fifty  foot  rock.”  The  wells  that  find  their  oil  at 
these  horizons  are  located  on  lines  running  parallel  to  the 
trend  of  the  “Third  Sand  belt,”  but  are  situated  west  of  the 
towm.  A  description  of  these  rocks,  showing  their  position 
with  reference  to  the  Third  and  Fourth  sands,  will  be  found 
in  chapter  X. 

The  section  shown  in  Fig.  104  was  compiled  from  a  series 
of  exposures  noted  along  a  surveyed  line  from  Columbia 
Hill,  in  Allegheny  township,  to  Donnelly  station,  and  can 
be  regarded  as  a  typical  section  of  the  rocks  found  within 
the  limits  of  this  township.  Some  alterations  have  been 
made  in  the  original  measurements  to  eliminate  the  error 
produced  by  dip,  and  the  intervals  as  here  given  are  very 
nearly  correct. 

The  Freeport  Limestone  and  coal  beds  are  absent  where 
this  section  was  obtained.  The  Lower  Freeport  coal  which 
is  an  enormous  bed  in  the  south-western  corner  of  the  town¬ 
ship,  is  seldom  seen  on  its  eastern  border  and  is  always  too 
thin  to  mine. 

The  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  bed  has  been  mined  near 
Lawrenceburg,  but  is  not  of  good  quality,  and  only  a  com¬ 
paratively  small  amount  of  coal  has  been  taken  from  it. 
Most  of  the  coal  used  at  Parker  and  Lawrenceburg  is  ob¬ 
tained  from  the  Clarion  Coal  bed.  This  coal  is  of  inferior 
quality,  being  quite  pyritous,  but  it  is  of  good  workable 
size,  and  easily  accessible.  A  large  quantity  lias  been  taken 
from  it  for  use  at  the  oil  wells. 


116  V.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


30' 


75 


Parker  Section. 

Surface  :  place  of  Freeport  Upper 

Limestone  and  Coal, . 

Sandstone,  tliin  bedded,  tine  grain¬ 
ed,  (Upper  and  Lower  Freeport 

Sandstone,) . 

Coal,  worthless,  “Currie  Local 

Coal,”  .  l'to2' 

Slate  and  slaty  shale,  olive  and 

grey, . 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .... 

Concealed,  . 

Kittanning  Lower  Coal,  .... 

Fireclay,  3'  to  6', . 


75' 
2' 
34' 

2' 6"  to  3' 
5' 


F.C. 


35 


Concealed,  . 

Shale, . 

Ferriferous  Limestone, . 

Dark  shale, . 

Clarion  Coal, . 

Concealed,  . 

Homewood  Sandstone,  “60  foot 

rock,”  massive, . 

Shale  and  slate, . 

Bituminous  shale,  sometimes  im¬ 
pure  (Mercer)  coal, . 

Sandy  fireclay,  . 

Blue  slate,  . 

Bituminous  shale  or  impure  coal, 

(Mercer  Group,) . 

Olive  shale  and  blue  slate  with 

nodular  ore  near  top, . 

Shaly  Sandstone,  . 

Blue  and  olive  shale,  with  a  band 
of  bituminous  shale  and  fireclay, 

Sandstone,  thin  bedded  to  creek 

level  at  Donnelly  Station.  .  .  . 

• / 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  has  been  quarried  and  burnt 
in  small  quantities  for  agricultural  and  building  purposes 
at  many  places  near  Columbia  Hill  and  Parker’s  Corners. 


35' 

8' 

15' 

30' 

3' 8"  to  4' 
22' 

15' 

50' 

o' 

o 

.  12' 
5' 

5' 

47' 

20' 

43' 

20' 


V.I04 


34 


F.C.  12\ 


PARKER  TOWXSIIIP. 


V.  117 


It  is  of  its  usual  character,  yielding  a  fair  lime,  and  is  ac¬ 
cessible  on  its  line  of  outcrop  at  almost  every  place  in  the 
township.  The  annexed  topographical  map  of  Parker  (plate 
II,)  shows  the  outcrop  of  this  stratum  and  of  the  Clarion 
Coal  bed. 


§  66.  Mercer  Group. 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  preceding  section  two  bands  of 
bituminous  shale  are  shown,  lying  about  seventeen  feet 
apart.  In  some  places  they  are  true  beds  of  impure  coal, 
though  always  entirely  unlit  for  mining.  They  are  the 
representatives  of  the  Mercer  Group  of  coals  and  limestones, 
which  is  a  very  valuable  series  in  Mercer  and  Lawrence 
counties.  The  iron  ore  of  this  group  is  also  present,  and 
has  been  mined  for  use  in  the  old  furnace  on  Bear  Creek. 

Beneath  this  ore  band  and  between  it  and  water  level  at 
Donnelly  Station,  there  occurs  a  very  variable  alternation 
of  shale,  slate,  fireclay  and  sandstone,  with  a  band  of  bitu¬ 
minous  shale  near  the  middle  of  the  mass.  This  whole  in¬ 
terval  is  sometimes  occupied  by  a  massive  sandstone,  which 
may  suddenly  disappear  entirely,  again  giving  place  to 
shaly  and  slaty  measures.  In  the  cutting  made  for  the 
Parker  elevator  there  is  exposed  120  feet  of  massive  sand¬ 
stone  filling  all  of  this  interval.  The  sandstone  from  top 
to  bottom  is  a  hard,  evenly  grained,  massive,  greyish  rock, 
and  is  evidently  much  thicker  than  the  120  feet  exposed 
by  the  excavation.  Other  exposures  measured  within  the 
city  limits  show  that  there  is  from  150  to  1G0  feet  of  solid 
sandstone,  with  no  partings  of  shale  or  slate,  lying  between 
the  base  of  the  Mercer  Group  and  water  level  in  the  Alle¬ 
gheny  river.  It  undoubtedly  corresponds  to  the  Upper  and 
Lower  Connoquenessing  Sandstones  of  the  Beaver  Biver 
Series  ;  the  middle  member  of  the  Conglomerate  Series. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  outcrops  on  the  road  from 
Lawrenceburg  to  Eldorado,  about  one  half  mile  beyond 
Parker’s  Corners.  It  has  been  quarried  from  the  roadside, 
but  only  about  three  feet  of  it,  overlaid  by  ten  feet  of  shale, 
can  now  be  seen. 


118  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


The  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  bed  is  opened  and  mined 
from  a  bank  close  to  the  quarry,  and  forty  feet  above  it. 
The  coal  is  here  of  about  the  same  character  as  at  Law- 
renceburg. 

At  the  crossing  of  this  road  over  the  North  Branch  of 
Bear  Creek,  one  of  the  Mercer  Coal  beds  is  laid  bare  at  the 
road  side.  It  ranges  from  a  few  inches  to  nearly  two  feet 
in  thickness,  but  is  of  quite  poor  quality  and  too  thin  and 
variable  to  be  worth  opening.  It  has  a  fireclay  floor  and  a 
roof  of  grey  sandstone.  The  latter  may  be  considered  as 
the  base  of  the  Homewood  Sandstone,  which  is  a  massive 
rock  jutting  out  in  bold  cliffs  along  the  stream,  and  shows 
a  rather  unusual  thickness  in  this  vicinity. 

The  above  described  exposures  give  the  section  shown  by 
Fig.  105  as  follows : 

Bear  Greek  section. 

Kittanning  Lower  coal, . 2' 

Concealed — SS.  and  shale,  .  .  .  .40' 

Ferriferous  limestone, . 10' 

Concealed,  . 20'  to  30' 

Clarion  coal, . 3' 

Concealed,  . 8' 

Hard  massive  SS.,  .  20'  j  Homewood  ]  ^ 

Sandstone  and  shale,  50'  f  Sandstone,  j 

Grey  shaly  sandstone, . 10' 

Mercer  coal  bed,  .  .  .  • . .  V 

Concealed  to  creek, . 10' 

The  Clarion  Coal  has  been  opened  and  worked  at  a  bank 
near  the  mill,  but  the  entry  has  fallen  shut  and  the  bed 
could  not  be  seen.  It  is  said  to  be  about  three  feet  thick, 
and  of  medium  quality. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Coal  has  been  opened  at  several 
places  between  Eldorado  and  North  Washington,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  township,  but  nearly  all  of  these  banks 
have  been  abandoned.  The  bed  lies  in  the  hill  tops,  with 
little  cover,  but  is  said  to  be  usually  of  good  workable 
size,  though  the  coal  mined  from  it  is  quite  soft.  Its  blos¬ 
som  is  also  frequently  laid  bare  on  the  road  from  Six  Points 
to  Martinsburg  in  the  central  part  of  the  township.  It  here 


PARKER  TOWNSHIP. 


V.  119 


varies  from  two  to  three  feet,  and  is  overlaid  by  tlie  Upper 
Freeport  sandstone  wliicli  sometimes  measures  as  much  as 
thirty  feet. 

The  section  shown  in  Fig.  106  was  compiled  from  a  series 
of  exposures  near  Martinsburg  by  means  of  several  sur¬ 
veyed  lines  of  levels. 

Martinsburg  section 

Kittanning  Upper  (Cannel)  Coal,  V  2"  to  V  4" 


Fireclay,  about .  2' 

Slate  .  50' 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  ....  2' 

Fireclay, .  4' 

Slate  and  shale, .  60' 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  ....  4' 

Soft  slaty  shale,  .  14; 

Clarion  Coal, .  7' 

Fireclay, .  2' 

Shale,  with  nodular  ore,  ....  9X 

Homewood  Sandstone  hard  and 
massive,  to  level  of  Creek  at 
trestle, .  20' 


The  Kittanuing  Upper  and  Middle  (?)  Coal  beds  are  both 
opened  and  worked  by  the  Parker  and  Karns  City  P.  R. 
Co.,  in  the  ravine  near  the  big  trestle.  They  are  rather  thin 
beds,  but  yield  a  fair  quality  of  coal.  The  Kit  tanning 
Lower  Coal  is  absent  in  this  locality.  The  Kittanning  Mid¬ 
dle  bed  lies  quite  low  in  the  above  section,  but  this  may  be 
partly  owing  to  the  violent  south  dip  of  the  rocks  into  the 
Martinsburg  Synclinal  axis. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  quite  variable  in  this  vi¬ 
cinity.  In  the  cutting  at  the  P.  P.  station  it  is  only  four 
feet  thick,  but  many  of  the  oil  wells  drilled  near  town  are 
said  to  have  found  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  of  it.  On 
Bear  Creek,  near  the  mouth  of  Story  Run  and  just  before 
its  final  disappearance  beneath  water  level,  it  is  about  eight 
feet  thick,  and  on  Big  Bear  Creek,  near  the  mouth  of  Silver 
Creek,  it  measures  fifteen  feet.  Throughout  all  of  this  area 
its  overlying  ore  band  is  either  very  thin  or  altogether  ab¬ 
sent. 


V.  106 


120  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CIIANCE. 


The  blossom  of  the  Upper  Kit  tanning  Coal  is  seen  on  the 
road  running  out  of  Martinsburg  to  Six  Points,  at  a  height 
of  120  feet  above  the  limestone. 

The  Clarion  Coal  bed  is  of  quite  unusual  size  at  Martins¬ 
burg,  but  is  of  very  poor  quality,  being  tilled  with  sulphur 
binders.  It  usually  shows  the  structure  V.  107 

shown  in  figure  107  : 

Martinsburg  coal  bank. 

Upper  bench, . 4'  O' 

Slate, .  6"  j-  7'  6 

Lower  bench, . S'  0"  ) 

Going  down  Bear  Creek,  the  central  parting  of  slate  con¬ 
stantly  increases,  until  near  Stone  House,  the  beds  consist 


v// 


V.I08 


of,  (Fig.  108.) 

Stone  House  coal  bank. 

Upper  bench, . 2'  6" 

Slate,  . 6'  6"  V 18'  6"  H 

Lower  bench, . 4'  6" 

The  upper  bench  is  thinning  away  in  this 
direction,  so  that  at  Lawrenceburg  it  is  only 
one  foot  and  a  half  Thick,  and  lies  fifteen 
feet  above  the  lower  bench,  which  is  four 
feet  thick  in  that  vicinity. 

We  here  have  then,  an  instance  of  a  coal  bed  parting  into 
two  separate  beds,  or,  rice  versa,  if  we  put  it  the  other  way, 
two  beds  converging  into  one.  The  above  data  are  more 
clearly  illustrated  by  Fig.  3,  in  chapter  IV,  where  a  fuller 
description  of  these  intervals  will  be  found 


;  •  .v--. 

\  •  ;  i'v- . 


§  67.  The  Martinsburg  Axis. 

The  old  coal  bank,  near  the  water  tank,  is  opened  directly 
on  the  axis  of  this  synclinal,  and  the  spring  from  which  the 
tank  is  supplied  issues  from  the  lowest  part  of  the  lime¬ 
stone,  in  the  trough  of  the  flexure. 

The  north  dip  may  be  easily  detected  by  the  eye,  from 
the  difference  in  elevation  of  the  Clarion  Coal  bed  at  the 
tank,  the  station,  and  on  the  railroad  south  of  the  depot. 

The  following  elevations  of  the  top  of  the  Ferriferous 


PARKER  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  121 


Limestone  show  its  rise  and  fall  in  crossing  the  flexure  from 
north  to  south  : 

north.  Synclinal.  Anticlinal.  south. 

Gully  at  Company’s  Banks.  At  Tank.  At  Station.  Along  R.  R.  On  Creek. 

1152'  1120  1135  1145  1124 


South  dip.  North  dip.  South  dip. 

From  the  crest  of  the  anticlinal  to  the  centre  of  the  Svn- 

«y 

clinal  trough  the  distance  is  less  than  half  a  mile. 

At  Martinsburg  the  Homewood  Sandstone  passes  under 
water  level,  but  from  this  point  eastward  to  the  Allegheny 
River  it  is  constantly  in  view  in  the  valley  of  Bear  Creek, 
as  a  hard  massive  sandstone,  making  bold  escarpments 
wherever  the  erosion  has  been  sharp,  and  forming  a  promi¬ 
nent  terrace  where  the  contour  is  smooth.  It  varies  from 
ten  to  fifty  feet  in  thickness,  but  usually  measures  about 
thirty  feet.  It  here  lies  close  to  the  Ferriferous  Limestone, 
occupying  the  horizon  at  which  we  should  expect  to  find 
the  Brookville  coal  bed.  Nearly  all  of  the  oil  well  records 
obtained  in  this  and  Fairview  townships 
show  it  in  about  the  same  position.  It  is 
usually  called  the  “ sixty  foot  rock”  by 
the  drillers,”  who  can  nearly  always  recog¬ 
nize  its  sand-pnmpings. 

Gibson  and  Ecoclt  well  section. 

Well  mouth  above  ocean  in  feet,  1382. 


Clay,  (conductor,) . IF 

Surface  sandstone, . 15' 

Slate  —  place  of  Freeport  Upper  coal 

and  lime, . 51 ' 

SS.  white — Freeport  Upper  Sandstone,  T 

Coal — Freeport  Lower, .  3' 

SS. — Freeport  Lower  Sandstone,  .  .  .  55' 

Coal — Upper  Kittanning, .  5' 

SS.,  (fireclay?)  .  . .  3' 

Slate,  . 132/ 

Limestone — Ferriferous, . 15' 

Coal — Scrubgrass,  (at  303',) .  3' 


The  section  shown  by  Fig.  109  is  the  upper  portion  of  the 


V.I09 


CLAY  14 


122  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


record  of  tlie  Gibson  and  Ecock  well,  (see  Chap.  X,)  and 
is  liere  reproduced,  to  sliow  the  character  of  the  measures 
between  Martinsburg  and  the  Armstrong  county  line.  The 
well  is  situated  on  the  Fronsinger  farm,  due  east  from  town. 

A  bed  of  coal  six  feet  thick  is  noted  in  this  record  at  a 
depth  of  498  feet,  but  it  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  those  bands 
of  bituminous  shale  already  described  as  seen  in  Bear  Creek 
Valley,  near  Donnelly. 

The  record  makes  no  mention  of  any  coal  or  limestone 
corresponding  to  the  Upper  Freeport  beds,  and  as  it  was 
very  carefully  kept,  and  sand-pumpings  preserved  from 
nearly  every  stratum,  it  is  probable  that  they  are  wanting 
in  that  locality.  The  Columbia  Hill  Surface  section,  Fig. 
104,  exhibits  the  same  feature. 

The  Freej>ort  Lower  coal  is  given  a  thickness  of  three  feet, 
which  is  probably  nearly  correct ;  but  the  size  of  the  Upper 
Kittanning  coal  is  undoubtedly  exaggerated,  and  the  Scrub- 
grass  coal,  immediately  beneath  the  Ferriferous  Limestone, 
is  also  given  too  great  a  thickness  A 

In  the  high  land  south  of  Silver  creek,  the  Freeport  Lower 
coal  bed  is  opened  and  worked  at  the  banks  owned  by  Mr. 
Hugh  Collins  and  Mr.  McCafferty,  where 
it  has  a  development  similar  to  that  de¬ 
scribed  at  North  Washington. 

The  bed  here  usually  measures:  (Fig.  110.) 

Collins  coal  bank. 


Slaty  laminated  coal, . 4'  0"  ) 

Laminated  coal, . 1'  6"  >•  9'  6" 

Coal, — fair, . 4'  0/;  ) 


It  is  often  much  thicker  than  this,  in  some  places  swell¬ 
ing  to  13  or  14  feet,  but  its  average  size  is  from  7J  to  9^ 
feet.  Nearly  all  the  variation  takes  place  in  the  upper 

*  The  coal  beds  passed  through  in  drilling  an  oil  well  are  nearly  always  re¬ 
ported  to  be  much  larger  than  they  really  are.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
when  using  the  heavy  tools  now  employed  in  drilling,  very  fast  time  is  made, 
and  the  driller  often  may  pass  through  the  coal  bed,  and  get  into  the  under¬ 
lying  fireclay  before  he  is  aware  of  the  fact ;  the  coal  and  fireclay  become 
thoroughly  mixed,  and  as  both  are  soft  drilling,  and  as  the  fireclay  comes  up 
in  the  sand  pump  thoroughly  blackened  with  coal,  he  thinks  he  is  still  drill¬ 
ing  in  coal,  and  consequently  gives  the  combined  thickness  of  both  the  coal 
and  fireclay,  as  the  thickness  of  the  coal  alone. 


PARKER  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  123 


bench,  generally  by  gradual  augmentation  of  its  size,  by  ad¬ 
ditional  layers  of  coal,  which  always  come  in  on  top  the  bed. 
These  upper  layers  are  always  quite  impure,  being  tilled 
throughout  by  thin  laminae  of  slate ;  but  no  regular  part¬ 
ing  band  of  slate  or  bone  is  ever  found  in  any  part  of  the 
bed. 

The  lower  bench  yields  a  fair  coal,  mining  in  large  sized 
pieces,  and  contains  little  sulphur.  This  is  the  only  part 
of  the  bed  that  is  worked,  as  it  has  been  the  practice  to 
leave  the  upper  bench  in  the  bank  as  a  roof.  When  any  of 
the  latter  is  taken  out  it  always  mines  in  slab  shaped  blocks, 
easily  split  with  the  lamination  but  quite  tough  in  any  other 
direction.  This  is  due  to  the  presence  of  the  thin  laminae 
of  slate  already  mentioned. 

The  bank  owned  by  Mr.  McCafferty  is  worked  by  a  shaft 
twenty-two  feet  deep,  from  which  the  coal  is»raised  by  horse 
power.  It  is  thoroughly  drained  by  old  workings  on  the 
Collins  Farm. 

Diligent  search  has  been  made  for  this  bed  in  all  of  the 
surrounding  hills,  but  it  is  everywhere  too  thin  to  be  profit¬ 
ably  mined. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Ore  occurs  about  ten  feet  beneath 
the  horizon  of  this  coal,  and  has  been  mined  quite  largely 
for  use  in  the  old  Maple  Furnace  on  North  Bear  Creek.  It 
is  said  to  vary  from  three  to  four  feet  in  thickness,  but  only 
occurs  in  “pots”  or  local  patches,  and  is  not  a  persistent, 
stratum.  It  is  probably  the  representation 
of  the  Freeport  Lower  Limestone. 


Freeport  Upper  Limestone,  . 

Concealed — shale,  .  .  . 
Freeport  Lower  Coal,  .  .  . 

Shale,  . . 

Iron  ore  (L.  Free.  Lime  ?)  .  . 

Concealed :  SS.  and  Shale, 
Kittanning  Upper  Coal,  .  . 

Concealed, . 

Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .  . 
Concealed  to  Creek,  .  . 


1 

• 

3' 

BBMBg 

40' 

10' 

IISSMIPS 

S' 

3' 

~J\  /  /V 

80' 

3' 

■1111 

30' 

/ 

blossom 

?  30 

10' 

Creek  level 

124  Y. 


EE  PORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


The  section  shown  by  Fig.  Ill,  was  made  from  data 
gathered  in  this  neighborhood. 

In  the  hill  above  the  Collins  Bank,  the  Freeport  Upper 
Limestone  is  detected  by  fragments  lying  on  the  surface 
at  about  forty  feet  above  the  coal.  Its  actual  outcrop  was 
not  seen. 

The  two  Kittanning  coal  beds  were  located  in  the  above 
section  from  their  blossoms  exposed  on  the  main  road. 

Southwest  of  Martinsburg  the  Kittanning  Upper  Coal  is 
quite  a  good  bed,  and  is  of  unusual  size.  At  the  bank 
opened  on  the  Story  Farm  it  shows  the  following  structure : 
(Fig.  112.) 

Story  Farm  coal  bank. 

Shale  roof. 

Laminated  slaty  Coal, . 1'  0" 

Coal, . . 4'  6" 

This  is  much  greater  than  the  usual  thickness  of  this 
bed, — which  rarely  exceeds  three  and  a  half  feet, — and  is 
remarkable  for  the  absence  of  any  well  defined  parting  lay¬ 
ers  of  slate  or  pyrites.  It  is  possible  that  this  coal  may  be 
the  Currie  Local  bed,  or  simply  a  “stray”  bed  of  local  de¬ 
velopment,  but  as  it  lies  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet 
above  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  its  identity  with  the  Upper 
Kittanning  Coal  appears  to  be  the  correct  determination  of 
its  place  in  the  coal  rocks. 


Chapter  IX. 

§  68.  Fourth  Tier  of  Townships. 

This  constitutes  the  northern  tier,  and  embraces  Mercer, 
Marion,  Yenango  and  Allegheny  Townships,  which  are  all 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Yenango  County.  In  Yenango 
and  Allegheny  townships  there  is  much  high  ground,  but 
the  general  level  of  Mercer  and  Marion  is  much  lower. 
The  great  Divide  sweeps  in  a  curve  from  Farmington,  in 
Yenango  township,  northwest  to  the  county  line,  which  it 
follows  westwardly  until  near  the  Mercer  township  line, 
when  it  again  sweeps  to  the  north  along  the  line  of  Mercer 
and  Yenango  counties. 

Over  all  of  this  area  the  Kittanning  group  of  coals  is  al¬ 
ways  accessible,  but  it  only  contains  workable  beds  in  a 
few  localities.  The  Upper  Kittanning  is  generally  quite 
thin, — though  at  Murrinsville  it  is  an  excellent  bed  of  can- 
nel  coal, — while  the  Middle  Kittanning  is  workable  in  the 
western  part  of  the  row,  and  the  Lower  Ki  Banning  has  its 
best  development  along  its  eastern  line. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  can  be  found  in  many  places, 
but  is  not  turned  to  as  great  an  advantage  as  it  might  be. 
If  it  were  used  to  a  greater  extent  on  all  of  the  soils  made 
from  disintegrated  slate  or  shale,  good  results  could  not 
fail  to  follow,  and  the  farming  of  the  district  would  be  put 
upon  a  much  more  remunerative  basis. 

The  Clarion  and  Brookville  beds  are  both  opened  and 
worked  in  many  places,  and  are  quite  constant  in  character 
and  thickness,  but  are  both  rather  pyritous,  and  though 
their  presence  will  never  very  much  increase  the  value  of 
the  land,  they  insure  for  a  long  period  an  abundance  of  coal 
for  local  use. 

No  exposures  of  the  Mercer  group  occur  in  these  town¬ 
ships,  as  the  erosion  has  not  been  deep  enough  to  cut  down 

(125) 


120  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  31.  CHANCE. 


to  its  horizon.  On  Scrubgrass  Creek,  in  Yenango  county, 
the  coals  of  this  group  are  apparently  absent,  and  on  Bear 
Creek  they  are  little  more  than  beds  of  bituminous  shale. 
It  is  not  likely  therefore  that  they  are  here  present  as  work¬ 
able  beds  ;  but  if  they  ever  are  found  of  sufficient  size  and 
pure  enough  to  mine,  they  can  be  reached  at  any  point  by 
shafts  of  moderate  depth. 


§  69.  Mercer  Township. 

This  lies  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  county,  being 
bounded  on  the  south  by  Slippery  rock  township,  on  the 
west  by  Mercer,  and  on  the  north  by  Yenango  county. 

Its  highest  rock  is  the  Freeport  Lower  Sandstone,  and 
the  Homewood  Sandstone  is  the  lowest  stratum  found 
within  its  limits.  The  latter  is  laid  bare  in  the  valley  of 
McMurry’s  Run,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township,  and 
is  described  in  the  sections  compiled  in  Marion  township. 

The  township  is  all  occupied  by  comparatively  high  land, 
with  summits  about  1400  feet  above  ocean  level. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  bed  is  the  only  one  of  value 
opened  within  its  limits.  This  has  been  worked  by  Mr. 
Andrew  Knapp  at  an  opening  near  the  Franklin  road  north 
of  Ilarrisville,  but  the  bank  has  long  been  closed,  and  the 
coal  was  not  seen.  It  is  also  opened  and  wrorked  in  the 
same  vicinity  by  Mr.  William  Cochran,  at  whose  bank  it  is 
of  fair  quality. 

The  openings  owned  by  Mr.  William  Brown  and  those 
on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Alexander  Brown,  show  about  the  same 
features  as  the  Barnes  Bank  and  will  need  no  detailed  de¬ 
scription. 


§  70.  The  Barnes  Coal  Bank. 

This  bank  is  worked  by  the  Mercer  Mining  and  Manu¬ 
facturing  Company,  and  is  situated  close  to  the  Ilarrisville 
R.  R.  Station,  one  mile  and  a  half  south  of  the  town. 

It  has  been  worked  quite  extensively  for  a  period  of  about 
eight  years.  A  large  area  has  been  completely  exhausted 


MERCER  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  12? 


and  at  the  present  rate  at  which  the  coal  is  being  extracted, 
all  the  good  coal  will  be  taken  out  in  about  eight  years 
from  the  present  time.  Most  of  it  is  sent  to  Cleveland  for 
rolling-mill  use. 

It  overlies  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  by  from  70  to  80 
feet,  and  is  therefore  the  Middle  Kittanning  bed,  and  is 
overlaid  by  shale  40  feet  thick,  above  which  comes  the  Free¬ 
port  Lower  Sandstone.  The  latter  makes  no  prominent 
marks  in  this  vicinity,  and  is  neither  a  hard  nor  a  massive 
rock. 

A  generalized  measurement  of  the  coal  is  given  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  description,  which  is  illustrated  by  Fig.  113 : 

Barnes  Coal  bank  section. 

Draw  slate  and  coal,  ....  2  "  to  4  " 

Coal, . V  0  "  to  V  3  " 

“ Bone  and  sulphur,”  .  .  .  1J"  to  2 i" 

Coal, . V  4  "  to  V  7  " 

Fireclay  floor. 

The  upper  bench  is  always  more  pyritous  than  the  lower 
bench,  though  neither  is  much  troubled  with  sulphur. 
The  following  analyses,  made  by  Mr.  McCreath,  will  show 
the  character  of  both  benches : 


No.  I. 

No.  II. 

W  ater, . 

.  .  .  2.430 

2.920 

Volatile  matter, . 

.  .  .  36.735 

38.495 

Fixed  carbon, . 

.  .  .  47.858 

54.138 

Sulphur,  . 

.  .  .  .767 

.842 

Ash,  (grey,  red  tinge,)  .  .  . 

.  .  .  12.210 

3.605 

100.00 

100.000 

Coke,  per  cent., . 

.  .  .  60.835 

58.585 

No.  I  was  made  from  a  sample  from  the  upper  bench, 
which  contained  less  sulphur  than  usual.  Its  heavy  per¬ 
centage  of  ash  is  accounted  for  by  the  presence  of  some  of 
the  draw  slate  which  adhered  to  the  upper  surface  of  the 
specimen  analyzed. 

No.  II  was  made  from  a  sample  taken  from  the  lower 
bench,  and  is  a  fair  average  analysis  of  the  coal  from  that 
bench. 


V.II3 


128  Y. 


REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


The  coal  from  both  benches  mines  in  large  solid  pieces 
from  those  parts  of  the  hill  having  sufficient  cover ;  but 
much  of  the  coal  taken  out  is  soft  outcrop  coal,  that  will 
not  bear  handling  very  well. 


§7i.  The  Ilarrismlle  Axis . 

The  main  entry  of  the  Barnes  Bank  is  driven  in  a  south¬ 
westerly  direction,  on  the  south  side  of  this  axis,  for  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  1500  feet,  along  which  the  coal  falls  (south  dip) 
nearly  25  feet.  At  this  point  a  gangway  branches  off  to  the 
northwest,  and  encounters  a  rise  (south  dip)  of  about  25 
feet  in  half  a  mile,  it  then  runs  level  for  a  short  distance  on 
crest  of  the  axis,  when  it  pitches  to  the  north  (north  dip) 
for  a  distance  of  2000  feet  to  the  end  of  the  gangAvay,  near 
the  outcrop  line  of  the  coal.  The  centre  of  the  synclinal  is 
not  reached  in  the  bank,  as  the  bed  outcrops  before  going 
that  far  northwest  of  the  anticlinal.  It  is,  however,  well 
defined  by  exposures  near  the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek,  a  de¬ 
scription  of  which  has  already  been  given  in  connection 
with  the  geology  of  Worth  and  Slippery  Rock  townships. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  has  been  quarried  for  many 
years  from  an  exposure  in  a  hollow  formed  by  a  small 
tributary  of  Wolf  Creek,  on  the  Pittsburgh  Pike,  three 
fourths  of  a  mile  south  of  ITarrisville.  A  kiln  has  lately 
been  erected  at  the  roadside,  and  the  stone  is  now  quarried 
and  burnt  by  the  same  parties,  and  yields  a  very  fair  lime. 
About  eight  feet  of  it  is  in  sight.  Though  this  stratum  un¬ 
derlies  nearly  all  of  this  township,  it  is  exposed  in  very  few 
places,  and  sometimes  no  trace  of  it  can  be  discovered.  A 
coal  seam  is  said  to  occur  immediately  beneath  it,  but  is  too 
thin  to  be  mined.  This  is  the  Scrubgrass  Coal  bed,  which 
is  quite  a  persistent  bed  in  all  of  the  surrounding  county, 
being  found  at  Clintonville  and  Mechanicsville,  in  Ve¬ 
nango  county,  and  on  Wolf  Creek  in  both  Butler  and  Mer¬ 
cer  counties,  and  on  Slippery  Rock  Creek,  in  Butler  and 
Lawrence  counties,  but  is  never  thick  enough  for  profitable 
mining.  A  short  distance  north  of  the  county  line,  on  the 
Pittsburgh  Pike,  the  limestone  outcrops  along  the  roadside, 


MERCER  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  129 


and  lias  been  quarried  and  burnt  for  several  years  by  Mr. 
Baker.  Only  two  or  three  feet  of  the  upper  part  of  the  bed 
is  now  visible.  It  here  shows  its  usual  irregularly  regular 
lines  of  stratification. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  bed  is  caught  in  a  small 
round  top  above  the  quarry,  and  was  opened  and  mined 
some  years  ago,  but  the  bank  has  fallen  shut,  and  no  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  bed  was  possible. 

As  the  rocks  underlying  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  ard 
not  well  exposed  within  the  township,  the  following  sec¬ 
tion,  made  on  Wolf  Creek,  near  Courtenay’s  Mills,  in  Mer¬ 
cer  county,  is  given  to  show  their  general  character. 

The  section  is  really  a  compound  one,  embracing  the  data 
of  two  sections,  one  made  at  the  mills,  and  one  at  the  lime¬ 
stone  quarry,  half  a  mile  south  from  the  mills.  It  is  illus¬ 
trated  by  Fig.  114 : 

Section  at  Courtenay' s  mills. 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  (61  > 
feet  above  creek  level  at  >  12'  to  15' 

the  quarry,) . ) 

Shale,  . . 1' 

Scrubgrass  Coal  bed,  . V 

Blue  slate, . 37' 

Clarion  Coal,  (Pardoe,) . 2'  3" 

Slaty  Shale,  . 9' 

Homewood  Sandstone,  hard  and  mas¬ 
sive  to  creek  bed, . 13' 

The  Homewood  Sandstone  here  occupies  the  horizon  of 
the  Brookville  Coal  bed. 

At  the  limestone  quarry  below  the  mills,  the  Clarion 
Coal  measures  2'  11"  and  lies  only  one  or  two  feet  above 
water  level,  the  Homewood  Sandstone  having  disappeared 
beneath  water  level  with  a  dip. of  20  feet  in  half  a  mile. 

This  coal  is  the  same  with  the  “big  bed”  at  Pardoe  on 
the  Shenango  and  Allegheny  R.  R.  Mr.  White  states  that 
at  the  latter  place,  the  Brookville  bed  is  present  as  a  small 
seam,  lying  between  the  “big  bed”  and  the  Homewood 
Sandstone,  which  there  occupies  a  lower  horizon  than  at 
Courtenay’s  mills. 

9  Y. 


130  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CIIANCE. 


No  outcrop  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  can  be  found 
between  Harrisville  and  Courtenay’s  ;  it  may  possibly  be 
absent  over  a  part  of  that  area.  Near  the  coal  banks  owned 
by  Mr.  Alex.  Brown,  several  sink  holes  are  noticeable  which 
may  indicate  the  horizon  of  this  stratum.  In  the  railroad 
cutting  near  the  road  crossing,  a  thin  seam  of  coal  from 
7"  to  12"  thick  is  laid  bare,  at  about  the  horizon  at  which 
we  would  look  for  the  limestone,  but  no  trace  of  it  is  there 
visible.  This  coal  may  be  the  Scrubgrass  bed.  It  is  over¬ 
laid  by  five  feet  of  slate  above  which  three  feet  of  sandstone 
is  exposed. 


§  72.  Marion  Township. 

This  lies  east  of  Mercer  and  north  of  Cherry  townships. 
Its  surface  is  diversified  by  north  and  south  valleys  of  trib¬ 
utaries  to  the  North  Branch  of  Slippery  Bock  creek.  The 
summit  lands  are  often  quite  fertile,  but  have  been  ex¬ 
hausted  by  overworking  and  need  a  thorough  recuperative 
treatment. 

The  Freeport  Sandstone  is  caught  in  the  highest  hills, 
nnd  along  the  low  lands  of  the  Slippery  Bock  branches 
the  Homewood  Sandstone  is  generally  in 
sight,  jutting  out  in  broken  escarpments  on 
both  sides  of  the  stream.  The  former  rock 
is  seldom  a  massive  or  prominent  stratum, 
but  the  latter  is  always  quite  hard  and  gen¬ 
erally  rather  coarse  grained. 

Section  south  of  Mur r insmile. 

'SS.  and  shale  in  summits,  (Freeport 

Lower  SS.) 

Kittanning  Upper  coal,  (cannel,)  .  .  2'  to  3' 

'Shale  and  SS.,  partly  concealed,  .  .  120' 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  “say”  ...  10' 

Sandy  shale, .  40' 

•Coal,  (Brookville  or  Clarion,)  .  .  2' to 3' 

Concealed — contains  hard  ) 
massive  Homewood  SS.,  f 


V.  115 


MAKION  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  131 


The  Kittanning  Group  is  represented  only  by  the  Kittan¬ 
ning  Upper  bed  which  is  present  as  a  cannel  coal,  resem¬ 
bling  very  much  the  same  bed  at  North  Washington.  The 
other  beds  of  this  group  are  either  quite  thin  or  absent, 
and  have  eluded  observation. 

On  the  road  from  Murrinsville  to  Annandale  the  section 
shown  in  Fig.  115  was  compiled.  It  extends  from  the  Free¬ 
port  down  to  the  Homewood  Sandstone. 

The  cannel  coal  noted  in  the  upper  part  of  this  section 
is  the  bed  mined  near  Murrinsville,  and  as  nearly  all  the 
banks  upon  it  are  situated  in  Yenango  township,  the  de¬ 
tailed  description  of  the  bed  is  given  in  connection  with  the 
geology  of  that  township. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  seen  in  situ  on  the  road  bed, 
and  forty  feet  below  it  is  the  smut  of  a  coal  which  may  be 
either  the  Clarion  or  Brookville  bed.  The  limestone  also 
outcrops  on  the  road  at  several  iilaces  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  township.  On  the  farm  of  Mr.  Black,  about 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  north  of  McMurry’s  mills,  it  is  finely 
exposed  in  an  abrupt  escarpment  and  “  Rock  City.”  Large 
blocks  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  in  height,  and  from  ten 
to  twenty  feet  square  cover  the  ground  below  the  outcrop, 
giving  it,  when  viewed  from  a  distance,  a  striking  resemblance 
to  the  “Bock  Cities”  of  sandstone  and  conglomerate  so 
common  in  the  northern  counties.  It  here  shows  its  char¬ 
acteristic  withered  appearance,  caused  by  the  weathering 
of  its  wavy  lines  of  stratification.  An  accurate  measure¬ 
ment  of  the  bed  could  not  be  obtained,  but  it  can  be  little 
less  than  twenty  feet  thick.  V J 1 6 

The  exposures  seen  in  this  vicinity  give 
the  section  shown  by  Fig.  116. 

Section  on  McMurry 9  s  Bun. 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  ....  20' 

Sandstone  and  shale, .  55' 

Brookville  Coal, . 3'  to  5' 

Homeward  Sandstone, .  30'± 

The  Brookville  coal  bed  has  been  opened  and  worked  at 
several  banks  near  the  Mercer  township  line,  but  most  of 
them  have  been  abandoned,  and  are  now  inaccessible.  It 


132  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


is  usually  of  medium  or  poor  quality,  always  containing 
mucli  slate,  and  generally  is  troubled  with  many  bands  of 
pyrites,  is  usually  quite  soft,  and  mines  in  small  pieces. 

It  is  opened  and  has  been  worked  quite  largely  by  Mr. 
R.  L.  Black,  but  at  present  the  bank  is  lying  idle,  though 
Mr.  Black  says  that  he  will  shortly  again  resume  mining. 
The  bed  was  measured  in  an  opening  owned  by  Mr.  Ray, 
where  it  exhibits  the  structure  shown  by  Rig. 

117. 

Ray ’  s  Coal  Banlc. 

Sandstone  roof. 

Coal, . I'  6"  ] 

Slate,  . 

Coal, . 

Slate,  . 

Coal, . 1'2"[5'1 

Slate,  . 

Coal, . . 

Slaty  coal, . 

Coal, . • 

Fireclay  floor, .  5' 

Homewood  Sandstone, . 25' 

The  Homewood  Sandstone  lies  just  below  the  bank,  and 
is  finely  exposed  on  both  sides  of  the  run,  which  flows  at 
its  base  in  a  small  narrow  canyon,  between  nearly  vertical 
walls  of  this  rock,  which  is  here  a  coarse,  massive,  and  iron- 
stained  sandstone,  containing  little  cementing  matter. 


1'  2" 
1" 
V  5" 
2" 
6" 


§  73.  Oil  and  Gas  Wells. 

At  McMurry’ s  Mill  a  well  was  drilled  in  1877  by  Messrs. 
Emerson  and  Bronson  and  struck  a  heavy  flow  of  gas, 
but  found  no  oil.  When  first  struck  the  flow  of  gas  was 
very  strong,  and  it  is  said  that  after  the  casing  was  drawn 
from  the  well,  the  water  was  thrown,  in  an  almost  continu¬ 
ous  stream,  thirty  or  forty  feet  above  the  top  of  the  derrick. 
Subsequently  it  greatly  diminished  and  at  present  the  water 
is  only  thrown  to  a  height  of  thirty-five  or  forty  feet  above 
the  derrick  floor.  This  rapid  diminution  in  the  volume 


VENANGO  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  133 


and  pressure  of  the  gas  is  probably  partly  due  to  tlie  effect 
of  water  on  tlie  gas  rock. 

Murrinsville  and  the  country  lying  west  of  it,  have  been 
the  scene  of  a  most  diligent  search  by  Phillip  Brothers  for 
a  southward  extension,  on  their  twenty-two  degree  line,  of 
the  Bullion  and  Clin  ton  ville  oil  field.  The  country  has 
been  punched  full  of  holes, but  all  as  yet  to  no  purpose  other 
than  proving  that  some  portions  of  this  area  are  undoubt¬ 
edly  un^oductive. 

In  many  of  the  wells  the  Third  Sand  is  said  to  have  been 
found,  but  always  as  a  very  close  and  “  shelly  ”  rock.  No 
complete  records  of  any  of  them  have  been  preserved,  and 
the  only  information  that  can  be  obtained  of  the  drillings, 
is  that  the  general  stratification  was  similar  to  that  found 
at  Clintonville.  Most  of  these  dry  holes  will  be  found 
.marked  on  the  map  by  a  small  circle  crossed  by  two  lines. 


§  7 'h>.  Venango  Township . 

This  township,  lying  east  of  Marion  and  north  of  Wash¬ 
ington  township,  is  principally  occupied  by  the  high  land 
of  the  great  dividing  ridge. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  the  lowest  stratum  laid  bare 
within  its  limits,  except  in  Slippery  Rock  valley,  where 
the  Clarion  group  is  exposed. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Coal  bed  is  caught  in  the  summits 
near  the  eastern  border  of  the  township,  and  is  frequently 
seen  outcropping  on  the  road  sides,  but  is  quite  thin  and 
little  worked. 

At  the  bank  owned  by  Mr.  Hughes,  one  mile  southwest 
from  Farmington,  it  varies  from  2'  6"  to  3'  0"  in  thickness 
but  yields  a  very  poor  coal.  It  is  opened  and  worked  near 
Farmington,  but  is  so  slaty  that  it  can  be  used  only  with 
difficulty,  and  produces  an  immense  amount  of  ash.  The 
bed  here  measures  twenty-eight  inches. 

Though  the  Freeport  Upper  Sandstone  is  a  rather  shaly 
rock,  it  is  generally  more  prominent  than  the  Freeport 
Lower  Sandstone.  It  is  caught  in  some  of  the  highest 
hills,  but  the  overlying  limestone  and  coal  are  not  found. 


134  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


75.  Kittanning  Upper  Coal ,  ( Venango  T. ) 


Tliis  is  opened  and  mined  quite  extensively  at  several 
banks  in  the  vicinity  of  Murrinsville,  where  it  is  from  two 
to  two  and  a  half  feet  thick.  The  principal  openings  now 
in  .running  order  are  owned  by  Mr.  Gormley,  Mr.  O’Don¬ 
nell,  Mr.  Joseph  Mnrrin,  and  Mr.  Hugh  Murrin. 

The  measurement  shown  by  Fig.  118  was  made  at  the 
mine  owned  by  the  last  named  gentleman. 

Murrin' s  Carmel  Coal  Bank. 

Slate  roof. 

Bone  and  slate, .  V  0" 

Slaty  Cannel  Coal, .  5" 

Cannel  Coal, .  2'  0" 

Slate,  . 3"  to  7" 

Hard  fireclay  floor. 

The  coal  is  of  good  quality,  resembling  very  much  the 
North  Washington  cannel  coal ;  contains  but  little  sulphur, 
and  leaves  only  a  moderate  amount  of  ash. 

It  is  as  yet  only  proven  to  be  a  good  bed  over  an  area  of 
less  than  one  square  mile,  and  will  probably  prove  to  be 
just  such  another  local  development  as  that  at  North  Wash¬ 
ington. 


In  some  localities  the  Freex>ort  Sandstone  forms  its  roof, 
but  the  bed  is  usually  sex>arated  from  it  by 
a  layer  of  slate  from  two  to  ten  feet  thick. 

The  section  shown  by  Fig.  119  was  com- 
piled  from  exxiosures  near  Murrinsville : 

Murrinsville  Bed  ion. 

Freeport  Sandstone. 

Slate, .  & 

Kittanning  Upper  (cannel)  Coal,  .  2'  6" 

Concealed :  Containing  blossom  of  ) 

°  V  X10  dz 

Kitt.  Lower  Coal  near  bottom,  .  ) 

Ferriferous  Limestone  about,  ...  12' 

The  interval  from  the  cannel  coal  down  to  the  Ferriferous 
Limestone  is  rather  small,  but  it  shows  that  the  former  is 
undoubtedly  the  Upper  Kittanning  bed.  The  limestone  is 
exx>osed  in  the  hollow  west  of  town,  but  an  accurate  meas¬ 
urement  of  its  thickness  could  not  be  obtained. 


V.  119 


VENANGO  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  135 


In  the  valley  of  Little  Scrubgrass  Creek,  one  mile  and  a 
half  north  of  Farmington,  a  bank  is  opened  on  a  coal  which 
is  either  the  Brookville  or  Clarion  bed.  A  heavy  rain  storm 
had  completely  closed  its  mouth  by  loosening  the  roof 
which  had  fallen  in,  a  few  hours  before  I  visited  it,  and  I 
was  unable  to  make  any  measurement  of  the  bed. 

The  Brookville  Coal  is  opened  in  two  banks  on  the  James 
Higgins  farm  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  where 
the  bed  exhibits  the  structure  shown  by  Figs.  120  and  121. 

Higgirt  s  Coal  Bank*  No.  1. 

Shale  and  Sandstone  roof. 

Draw  Slate, . 4"  to 


v 


i"  to 


6" 
1" 
1" 
2" 
1 " 

2'  0" 


V.  120 


V 


V  10" 
1" 
2" 
3" 


Coal, . 

Slate,  . i"  to 

Coal,  .  . . 

Slate,  . 

Coal  (reported),  ....... 

Fireclay  floor. 

Bank  No.  8. 

Sandstone  roof. 

Coal, . 

Slate,  . 

Coal, . 2' 

Slaty  Coal, . 

Fireclay  floor. 

Bank  Ho.  1  is  near  the  road  side  and  at  water  level. 
The  lower  bench  was  partly  hidden,  and  its  thickness  is 
given  from  the  report  of  men  who  had  worked  in  the  bank. 
The  upper  benches  yield  a  fair  coal  but  the  lower  bench 
is  quite  pyritous. 

In  a  well  drilled  for  oil  in  close  proximity  to  Bank  Ho. 
2,  and  about  level  with  it,  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  is 
said  to  have  been  reached  at  a  depth  of  forty  feet.  If  this 
report  be  true,  then  these  coal  banks  are  on  the  Kittanning 
Lower  bed ;  but  the  character  of  the  coal,  its  tide-water 
elevation,  and  the  character  of  the  overlying  strata,  have 
led  me  to  believe  most  positively  that  it  is  the  Brook¬ 
ville  bed.  Ho  limestone  has  been  found  above  it,  but  what 
is  supposed  to  be  the  “limestone  ore,”  has  been  dug  from 


136  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


the  hills  at  several  places,  at  a  height  of  about  forty  feet 
above  the  coal. 

The  above  mentioned  well  is  owned  by  Mr.  Prentice,  and 
was  drilled  to  a  depth  of  about  1,600  feet  without  finding 
oil  in  paying  quantities. 

From  the  Higgins  Banks  southward  for  about  three  fourths 
of  a  mile,  the  coal  is  opened  at  short  intervals  by  banks  in 
good  running  order.  It  shows  about  the  same  thickness 
and  quality  in  all  of  them. 

A  sharp,  but  local,  south  dip  pervades  the  measures  in 
this  locality,  and  is  very  prominently  shown  by  the  banks 
on  this  bed,  each  of  which  can,  by  the  eye,  be  seen  to  be 
much  lower  than  the  one  lying  north  of  it. 

The  sections  given  by  Mr.  Burnett,  shown  in  Figs.  94  and 
95,  and  described  in  connection  with  Washington  township, 
will  elucidate  any  unexplained  features  in  the  stratigraphy 
of  the  southern  part  of  this  township. 


§  76.  Allegheny  Township. 

This  lies  in  the  northern  corner  of  the  county,  with  Ve¬ 
nango  county  on  its  northern  and  Allegheny  county  on  its 
eastern  line. 

Its  central  and  southern  portions  are  occupied  by  very 
high  land,  but  the  surface  falls  off  quite  rapidly  towards 
Bear  creek  on  the  south,  the  Allegheny  river  on  the  north¬ 
east,  and  Little  Scrubgrass  creek  on  the  northwest. 

It  is  fairly  off  for  coal,  but  contains  no  very  valuable 
seams — those  of  good  quality  are  thin,  and  the  thick  ones 
are  generally  of  ordinary  or  bad  quality. 

The  Freeport  Upper  coal  is  found  in  local  patches  in  some 
of  the  higher  lands  of  the  dividing  ridge  between  Bear  creek 
and  the  Allegheny.  It  has  so  little  cover  that  it  can  never 
be  profitably  mined.  It  lies  from  1,500  to  1,530  feet  above 
ocean  level,  and  varies  from  four  to  six  feet  in  thickness, 
but  is  sometimes  so  thin  that  no  trace  of  it  can  be  found, 
and  is  possibly  absent  over  large  areas.  On  the  ridge  road, 
from  Lawrenceburg  to  Six  Points,  its  smut  is  frequently 
seen. 


ALLEGHENY  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  137 


V.122 


8"  to  V  0" 
1"  to  2" 

r  ir 
2" 
V  6" 
3" 
4" 
0" 


The  Hitchcock  Slope,  one  mile  southwest  from  Six  Points, 
is  opened  on  either  the  Kittanning  Middle  or  Lower  bed. 
The  coal  is  of  good  quality,  but  is  quite  thin,  never  meas¬ 
uring  more  than  thirty  inches,  and  contains  a  band  of  slate 
near  the  middle  of  the  bed  from  one  half  to  two  inches 
thick. 

In  the  same  vicinity  the  Brookville  Coal  is  opened  and 
worked  at  Mr.  Blymiller’ s  Bank,  where  it  shows  the  struct¬ 
ure  represented  in  Fig.  122. 

Blymiller  Coal  Bank. 

Sandstone  and  shale  roof. 

Coal, . 

Slate, . 

Coal, . 

Pyriteband, . 

Coal, . 

Fireclay, . 2"  to 

Coal, . 3"  to 

Fireclay  (seen) .  4' 

The  lower  (F  6")  bench  is  quite  pyritous,  but  the  middle 
bench  yields  good  coal. 

Two  other  banks  are  opened  in  the  same  bed  close  to  the 
Blymiller  Bank.  They  are  owned  by  Mr.  Davis  and  Mr. 
Campbell. 

From  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  above  this  coal,  a  bed  has 
frequently  been  found  that  is  not  opened  in  this  neighbor¬ 
hood.  It  is  about  two  feet  thick  and  is  evidently  the  Clarion 
Coal  bed. 

The  Brookville  bed  is  also  opened  at  a  bank  owned  by 
Mr.  John  Chambers,  in  a  hollow  two  miles  east  of  Six 
Points.  It  yields  a  medium  to  fair  coal,  but  is  not  persist¬ 
ent  in  thickness.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  run,  an  entry 
was  driven  in  upon  it  for  quite  a  distance  but  no  workable 
coal  was  found.  A  measurement  at  the  Chambers’  Bank 
gave  the  thickness  shown  by  Fig.  123. 

No  trace  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  could  be  found 
near  this  bank.  It  is  probably  very  thin  or  altogether  ab¬ 
sent. 


138  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


4" 

8" 

1" 

2'  3" 

/  r\" 


V.I23 


Chambers’  Coal  Banh. 

Slaty  shale  roof. 

Draw  slate . 

Coal,  . . 

Slate, . 

Coal, . 

Fireclay, . 1'  to  2'  0 

Slate. 

Seven  or  eight  years  ago  an  oil  well  was  drilled  in  this 
hollow,  but  though  a  good  show  was  obtained,  it  failed  to 
produce  oil  in  paying  quantities. 


§  77.  The  Six  Points  or  Crawford 5  s  Corners  Oil  Field. 

This  development  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town¬ 
ship,  and  extends  east  by  north,  in  a  narrow  line,  a  distance 
of  about  one  and  a  half  miles.  Quite  a  large  number  of 
wells  have  been  completed,  and  these  at  present  aggregate 
a  very  respectable  production. 

The  oil  is  obtained  at  three  different  horizons  and  is  of 
two  different  grades.  That  from  the  “ Fifty  foot  rock”  is 
lighter  in  color  and  heavier  in  gravity  than  that  pumped 
from  the  “ Stray”  and  “ Third”  Sands.  The  former  is  of 
about  42°  gravity,  but  the  latter  is  from  42°  to  45°  grav.,  is 
of  a  green  color,  and  shows  a  beautiful  wine  color  by  trans¬ 
mitted  light.  It  congeals  very  rapidly,  and  great  difficulty 
is  experienced  by  the  pipe  line  engineers  in  pumping  it 
during  cold  weather. 

The  description  illustrated  by  Fig.  124,  is  a  very  nearly 
correct  section  of  the  measures  penetrated  by  these  wells  : 
Top  of  Ferr.  Lime,  to  top  of  “  3d  Sand,”  .  .  1205  to  1210' 
Top  of  ulst  Sand”  to  base  of  “3d  Sand,”  .  313' 

Top  of  “1st  Sand”  to  top  of  “50' rock,”  .  .  (  156?)  146' 
Top  of  “50'  rock  to  base  of  “3d  SS,”  .  .  .  (  157?)  167' 

About  350  to  400  feet  of  sandy  measures,  belonging  to 
the  “Mountain  Sand”  group  (Conglomerate  Series,  No. 
XII)  is  found:  the  “Mountain  Sand”  being  200  feet  thick, 
with  no  shaly  or  slaty  'partings.  Twenty-five  feet  beneath 


ALLEGHENY  TOWNSHIP. 


Y.  139 


it  is  a  loose-grained,  salt  water  rock,  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  feet  thick. 

Near  the  middle  of  the  interval  from  this  rock  down  to 
the  “First  Sand,”  a  shelly  sand  or  a  band  of  shells  is  fre¬ 
quently  struck.  This  is  probably  the  6  ‘  3d  Mountain  Sand  ’  ’ 
of  the  Oil  Creek  region. 


78.  The  Oil  Sand  Group. 

The  First  Sand. 

This  is  composed  of  ten  feet  of  good  white 
sand,  beneath  which  is  an  alternation  of 
slate,  shale,  shells,  and  grey  sandstone  to 
the  base  of  the  rock.  Near  the  bottom  of 
the  series,  a  good  loose  sand  is  occasionally 
passed  through,  and  is  designated  by  the 
name:  “30  foot  rock.”  Total  thickness 
of  group,  .  .  .  100  ft. 

The  Forty  Foot  Red  Roek  consists  of  an 
alternation  of  slate  and  shale,  with  a  few 
intercalated  sandy  bands.  The  red  rock 
usually  found  in  the  lower  part  of  this  in¬ 
terval,  is  sometimes  forty  feet  thick,  and 
is  nearly  always  quite  soft.  Thickness  of 
interval,  . 46  ft. 

The  Fifty  Foot  Rock  is  a  good,  coarse, 
pebbly,  white  sandstone,  and  probably  cor¬ 
responds  to  the  Oil  Creek  Second  sand.  It 
produces,  in  small  quantities,  an  oil  similar 
to  the  typical  Second  Sand  oil,  and  in  some  of  the  wells  the 
yield  from  this  horizon  has  been  as  high  as  four  or  five  bar¬ 
rels  per  day.  It  is  the  gas  rock  of  the  district,  yielding 
in  nearly  all  of  the  wells,  sufficient  gas  to  fire  the  boiler. 
At  some  of  them  it  is  used  directly  in  the  engine  cylinder 
as  the  motive  power.  The  thickness  of  this  stratum  is 


about, . . 50  ft. 

Interval  of  soft  rock ,  shale  or  slate, . 70  ft. 


(I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this  interval  should  be  de- 


V.  124 


140  V.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 

creased  ten  feet,  and  the  surplus  added  to  the  space  between 
the  First  Sand  and  50  foot  rock.) 

“Stray”  or  Brown  Sand.  This  is  a  soft,  loose,  and 
rather  friable,  porous,  reddish-brown  sandstone,  entirely 
different  from  any  sand  occurring  within  the  limits  of  the 
Venango  Oil  Sand  group.  Oil  has  been  found  in  it  by  sev¬ 
eral  wells,  and  some  are  now  producing  from  this  horizon. 
Its  oil  is  indistinguishable  from  the  “Third  Sand”  oil 
of  this  district.  Thickness  from, . 2  to  6  ft. 

Interval  of  soft  measures , . 35  ft. 

The  “  Third ”  Sand  is  the  principal  oil  rock  of  the  dis¬ 
trict.  It  somewhat  resembles  the  “Stray”  sand,  is  quite 
dark  in  color,  rather  fine  grained,  but  porous  and  friable. 

Thickness, . 10  to  12  ft. 

Though  this  rock  lies  at  just  the  right  distance  below  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone  (at  which  many  of  the  wells  commence 
drilling)  to  be  the  Oil  Creek  or  Butler  Third  Sand,  it  is  a 
rock  of  totally  foreign  aspect  when  compared  with  sand 
pumpings  from  any  part  of  the  Venango  or  Butler  Oil  Fields, 
resembling  very  much  a  dark  Chemung  sandstone.  I  am  in¬ 
clined  to  think  that  both  the  “Stray”  and  “Third  Sand” 
do  not  properly  belong  to  the  Venango  group,  but  are  sands 
occupying  a  high  place  in  the  Chemung  floor  on  which  the 
latter  rests. 

If  this  view  be  correct,  there  can  be  no  connection,  in 
this  direction  at  least,  between  the  Clintonville  oil  sand  and 
the  oil  rock  of  Columbia  Hill  and  Parker. 


Chapter  X. 

§  79.  On  the  Ferriferous  Limestone. 

This  limestone  has  its  area  of  best  development  in  Clarion, 
Armstrong,  Butler,  Venango,  Lawrence  and  Beaver  coun¬ 
ties,  where  it  has  an  average  thickness  of  from  12  to  15  feet, 
with  an  occasional  local  size  of  from  20  to  25  feet. 

Its  most  northerly  outcrop  is  found  in  the  Johnsonburg 
coal  field,  near  Wilcox  in  McKean  county,  where  it  is 
quite  thick,  and  retains  its  usual  lithological  characteristics. 

It  is  not  found  in  Clinton  county,  nor  in  any  part  of  the 
State  northeast  from  the  Sinnemahoning,  but  at  Karthaus 
in  the  northeastern  corner  of  Clearfield  county,  there  is  a 
thin  bed  of  limestone  which  seems  to  lie  in  or  near  the 
horizon  of  the  Ferriferous.  It  may,  however,  be  the  north¬ 
eastern  representative  of  the  Johnstown  Cement  bed,  which 
occupies  a  place  in  the  measures  from  110  to  130  feet  above 
this  horizon.*  By  the  First  Survey  it  was  supposed  to  be 
the  Upper  Freeport  Limestone. 

The  Ferriferous  has  no  existence  in  the  southeastern  sub¬ 
division  of  the  First  Coal  Basin,  and  need  never  be  looked 
for  in  any  part  of  Somerset  or  the  southern  half  of  Cambria 
county,  for  Mr.  Platt  has  proven  that  over  this  area  it  is 
absent,  and  its  place  supplied  by  the  Johnstown  Cement 
Bed.  It  is  shown  under  Pittsburgh  in  the  record  and  by 
the  sand  pumpings  of  the  Boyd’ s  Hill  gas  well  (see  Report 
1. 1. 1)  and  is  also  found  by  many  oil  wells  in  southern 
Butler.  We  can  therefore  assign  no  limits  to  its  extension 
south  and  southwest  from  the  Butler  County  Oil  Field. 

Throughout  Jefferson,  Indiana,  Clarion,  Armstrong, 


*  See  Report  HHH. 
(141) 


142  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


southern  Venango,  Butler,  southern  Mercer,  Lawrence  and 
northern  Beaver  counties,  it  is  a  well  marked  and  easily 
recognized  horizon,  and  is  our  best  c  4  key-rock 5 '  in  study¬ 
ing  the  geology  of  any  part  of  this  area. 

In  the  southern  part  of  Forest  county  it  is  caught  in  a 
few  isolated  hilltops  just  north  of  the  Clarion  River,  but  in 
Clarion  county  it  is  contained  in  nearly  all  of  the  high  land. 

Its  most  northern  outcrop  in  Venango  county  is  seen  near 
Tippery  corners,  six  miles  east  by  south  from  Oil  City, 
where  it  is  from  seven  to  eight  feet  thick  and  quite  fossilif- 
erous.  In  southern  Venango  and  southeastern  Mercer  it 
is  preserved  in  all  of  the  hills  that  are  high  enough  to  con¬ 
tain  it. 

In  Ohio, — except  at  Lowellville,  on  the  Mahoning,  where 
it  exhibits  its  usual  character, — it  is  much  thinner  than  in 
Pennsylvania,  and,  compared  to  its  value  in  the  latter  State, 
is  worth  but  little,  either  as  a  limestone  or  as  an  iron-ore 
carrier.  Its  outcrop  enters  Ohio  near  the  Mahoning  river. 

East  of  the  Allegheny,  its  thickness  seldom  exceeds  six 
feet,  though  in  some  parts  of  Clarion  county  it  measures 
ten  or  twelve  feet.  Along  Red  Bank  Creek  it  ranges  from 
four  to  six  feet. 


§  80.  Local  Variations  in  its  thickness. 

At  Vanporte,  in  Beaver  county,  Mr. 

White  obtained  the  section  represented  in 
Fig.  125. 

Vanporte  Section. 


Grey  limestone, . 7' 

Shale, . V 

Grey  limestone, . 5' 

Blue  limestone, . 5' 


The  shaly  parting  here  noted  is  seen  in  many  localities 
and  is  sometimes  accompanied  by  a  very  thin  seam  of  coal. 

In  the  same  neighborhood,  Mr.  White  states  that  the 
whole  stratum  suddenly  thins  down  to  six  inches  and  is  re¬ 
placed  by  a  bed  of  shale.  If  it  were  replaced  by  sandstone 


FERRIFEROUS  LIMESTONE. 


V.  143 


we  might  reasonably  suppose  that  this  diminution  in  size 
was  the  result  of  a  subaqueous  erosion.* 

A  precisely  similar  feature  is  observed  on  the  Beaver 
Biver  between  Clinton  and  Wampum.  At  the  latter  place 
the  bed  measures  twenty-two  feet,  while  at  Clinton  only 
a  few  inches  of  it  can  be  found,  but  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  directly  opposite  Clinton,  it  is  again  seen  in  good 
development  with  an  average  thickness  of  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  feet. 

At  Brady’s  Bend  a  striking  instance  of  this  kind  is  de¬ 
tected.  On  the  west  side  of  Whisky  Bun  it  is  a  massive 
stratum,  fully  fifteen  feet  thick,  but  in  the  hill  between  the 
Bun  and  the  Allegheny  Biver,  it  is  so  thin  that  no  trace  of 
it  can  be  detected.  In  a  w^ell  on  the  Balph  tract,  it  is  said 
to  measure  only  “half  a  screw,”  (two  feet.) 

It  is  positively  asserted  to  be  absent  from  oil  wells  on  the 
Humes  Farm,  in  Clearfield  township  (Butler  Co.),  but  on 
Buffalo  Creek,  three  miles  east  from  the  wells,  it  is  quite  a 
prominent  stratum. 

These  instances  of  sudden  local  variations  will  explain 
why  it  is  so  often  unnoticed  in  the  detailed  sections  pre¬ 
pared  from  surface  outcrops,  for  if  the  bed  is  subject  to 
such  radical  changes,  we  may  not  be  surprised  to  frequently 
find  it  absent,  or  if  not  absent,  at  least  so  thin  that  its  pres¬ 
ence  cannot  be  detected.  Such  is  undoubtedly  the  case  at 
many  localities  in  Northern  Butler,  and  it  must  not,  there¬ 
fore,  be  expected  that  at  every  point  along  the  outcrop 
line  shown  on  the  contoured  map,  this  stratum  will  unfail¬ 
ingly  be  found. 

*  Though  we  can  no  longer  advance  the  theory  of  extensive  subaqueous 
erosions  by  sea  currents,  (that  hypothesis  being  abandoned  because  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  conceive  of  a  current  eroding  while  it  is  constantly  and  univer¬ 
sally  depositing ,)  and  must  utterly  deny  the  possibility  of  such  denudations 
as  true  frictional  erosions ,  in  sandy  or  muddy  deposits,  it  does  not  seem  im¬ 
probable  that  subaqueous  erosions  of  limestone  by  solution  may  have  often 
occurred. 

Our  data  are  insufficient  for  a  discussion  of  this  problem,  and  we  can  only 
hypothetically  suggest  that  new  ocean  currents,  with  deeper  or  shallower 
water,  changing  both  the  temperature  and  pressure,  and  bringing  with  them 
waters  chemically  differing  from  those  that  filled  the  basin  during  the  deposi¬ 
tion  of  the  limestone,  may  have  effected  an  erosion  by  a  solvent  action  upon 
the  then  soft  limestone. 


144  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Whether  these  irregularities  were  produced  by  the  origi¬ 
nal  accidents  of  deposition,  or  by  a  subsequent  subaqueous 
erosion  is  as  yet  quite  uncertain.  The  overlying  measures 
are  sometimes  quite  soft,  but  generally  are  rather  sandy 
shales  which  might  readily  have  been  deposited  by  an  erod¬ 
ing  current,  but  if  this  were  the  cause,  why  is  it  that  we  so 
frequently  find  the  bed  so  thin,  but  still  persistent  as  a  thin 
bed  ?  If  fourteen  feet  of  it  was  eroded,  why  should  one 
foot  be  left  ?  These  queries  might  be  answered  by  suppos¬ 
ing  that  where  we  find  the  bed  persistent  as  a  very  thin 
stratum,  it  is  present  only  as  a  secondary  product  of  seg- 
gregation  from  the  overlying  and  underlying  calcareous 
strata.  This  view  is  supported  by  the  almost  universal  oc¬ 
currence  of  the  “  cone-in-cone  ”  structure  where  the  bed  is 
thin. 

In  many  localities  it  furnishes  an  excellent  furnace  flux, 
showing  by  analysis  from  90  to  95  per  cent,  of  calcic  carbon¬ 
ate,  and  from  2  to  6  per  cent,  of  silica,  with  little  phos¬ 
phorus  or  sulphur. 

It  is  emphatically  the  best  limestone  of  the  Lower  Pro¬ 
ductive  coal  measures  for  both  agricultural  and  building 
purposes,  but  its  value  as  a  fertilizer  is  not  appreciated  by 
the  farmers.  Its  use  on  the  worked  out  soils  of  Northern 
Butler,  and  of  all  the  Western  counties,  cannot  be  too 
strongly  recommended. 

When  of  good  quality  it  burns  readily,  yielding  some¬ 
times  a  very  white  lime  but  generally  lime  of  a  light  grey 
color,  slacking  rapidly  and  thoroughly. 

As  a  mortar  lime,  it  is  found  to  set  in  a  reasonable  time, 
forming  a  good,  firm,  and  adhesive  mortar,  and  resists  in 
a  fair  manner,  the  disintegrating  action  of  rain  and  frost. 


§  81.  The  Buhr stone  Iron  Ore. 

In  years  past  immense  quantities  of  iron  have  been  made 
from  the  ore  bed  which  usually  rests  upon  this  rock,  but  in 
many  localities  all  the  ore  within  “ striking  distance”  has 
been  exhausted,  and  the  furnaces  blown  out.  To  attempt 
to  run  a  large  stack  upon  the  outcrop  ore  from  this  bed  is 


THE  BUHRSTONE  ORE. 


Y.  145 


conceded  to  be  useless  by  those  who  have  tried  it,  and  drift¬ 
ing  upon  it  will  not  pay  except  at  localities  where  it  is  of 
unusual  thickness. 

The  ore  usually  lies  in  plates  or  nodular  masses,  imme¬ 
diately  on  top  the  limestone,  but  sometimes  the  upper  lay¬ 
ers  of  this  rock  are  so  ferruginous  as  to  become  a  calcare¬ 
ous  ore,  and  again  the  ore  is  found  disseminated  in  nodules 
and  plates  through  several  feet  of  shale  overlying  the  for¬ 
mer.  It  sometimes  entirely  replaces  the  limestone,  forming 
an  immense  bed,  but  such  instances  are  rare.  Mr.  White 
describes  (Chap.  Y,  Report  QQ)  a  very  remarkable  occur¬ 
rence  of  this  kind,  where  the  resulting  ore  bed  is  twenty- 
two  feet  thick. 

The  ore  balls  or  nodules  which  are  evidently  of  concre- 

€/ 

tionary  origin,  are  at  times  hollow,  and  the  cavity  is  des¬ 
cribed  by  Prof.  Rogers  as  being  sometimes  tilled  with  ua 
dark  unctous  fluid,”  but  it  is  usually  dry  and  coated  on 
the  inside  with  a  glossy  dark  blackish  coating,  with  a  vel- 
vet-like  lustre,  and  is  occasionally  incrusted  with  minute 
crystals  of  a  yellow,  blue  or  purple  tinge. 

When  they  are  solid,  a  grain  of  sand  or  some  foreign 
material  is  generally  found  at  the  center,  forming  a  nucleus 
around  which  the  seggregation  has  taken  place.  Prof. 
Lesley  describes  a  specimen  in  which  he  found  a  perfect 
cube  of  galena,  nearly  three  fourths  of  an  inch  in  diame¬ 
ter  in  the  core  of  one  of  these  nodules. 

The  outside  shell  is  generally  a  dark  and  hard  peroxi- 
dized  layer  covering  the  mass  of  yellowish  ore  which  forms 
the  body  of  the  concretion. 

When  it  occurs  in  plates  it  is  often  of  a  cherty  nature, — 
hence  called  the  Buhrstone  ore, — is  greyish  to  light  blue  in 
color,  often  resembling  a  ferruginous  limestone. 


§  82.  Lithology  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone. 

This  rock  seldom  forms  any  bold  natural  escarpments, 
but  where  such  occur,  its  weathered  outcrop  presents  a 
rugged  irregular  face,  seamed  by  horizontal  undulating 
10  Y. 


146  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


lines  of  stratification,  and  is  broken  at  intervals  by  vertical 
cleavage  fissures  and  numerous  cave  mouths. 

When  lying  near  the  surface,  its  presence  is  shown  by 
many  “ sink-holes”  and  by  the  very  irregular  surface  over¬ 
hung  it  and  kept  quite  dry  by  the  drainage  of  numerous 
subterranean  water  courses  that  ramify  it  in  all  direc¬ 
tions. 

Its  upper  layers  are  of  a  dirty  grey  color,  but  the  lower 
part  is  nearly  always  bluish  grey  or  light  blue  in  color  and 
more  impure  than  the  former.  On  the  Beaver  River  these 
sub-divisions  are  very  persistent  and  constant  in  character. 
(See  Report  QQ  and  Part  II.) 

All  the  bed  plates  and  planes  of  lamination  are  very  ir¬ 
regularly  undulating,  and  present  a  knobby  or  knotted  ap¬ 
pearance.  The  elevations  on  one  plate  fit  loosely  into  cor¬ 
responding  depressions  in  the  overlying  layer,  but  the  union 
between  them  is  not  good,  and  the  stone  can  generally  be 
parted  along  any  of  its  lines  of  stratification  with  little 
trouble.  These  layers  usually  measure  from  one  half  to  two 
and  a  half  inches,  but  sometimes  are  much  thicker. 

One  of  the  most  striking  peculiarities  of  this  rock  is  the 
appearance  of  its  outcrop  in  a  road  bed.  The  stone  being 
bruised  by  passing  wagons,  and  by  horse  shoes,  exhibits  a 
prominent  bluish  white  color,  which  immediately  catches  the 
eye,  and  is  so  noticeable  that  it  can  frequently  be  recognized 
at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile.  No  other  rock  in  the  Lower 
Productive  coal  measures  ever  produces  anything  similar 
to  the  appearance  of  such  an  outcrop. 

It  is  a  characteristically  fossiliferous  stratum,  and  in 
some  localities  the  rock  is  wholly  composed  of  fossils  in 
a  fair  state  of  preservation,  and  these  are  at  times  beauti¬ 
fully  displayed  in  has  relief  upon  weathered  surfaces  of 
the  stone.  Crinoid  stems  are  especially  numerous  in  it. 
In  Report  Q  (page  62)  Prof.  White  gives  the  following  as 
a  list  of  the  fossils  that  he  has  found  in  it  in  Beaver  and 
Armstrong  counties : 

“  Spirifer  Cameratus.  Nuculana  bellistriata. 

Spirifer  lineatus.  Macrocheilus  primigenius. 

Spirifer  opimus.  Macrocheilus  ventricosus. 

Procluctus  Nebrascensis.  Astartella  concentrica. 


FERRIFEROUS  LIMESTONE. 


Y.  147 


Productus  longi-spinus. 
Productus  Prattenanus. 
Productus  semi-reticularis. 
Heiniplironites  crassus. 
Chonetes  mesoloba. 
Euomplialus  rugosus. 
Pleurotomaria  Grayvilliensis. 
Pleurotomaria  carbonaria. 


Polyphemopsis  peracuta. 
Aviculo-pecten  carbonarius. 
Aviculo-pecten  Whiteii. 
Athyris  subtilita. 
Solenomya  radiata 
Macrodon  obsoletus. 
Aviculopinna  Americana. 
Nautilus  occidentaiis. 


Pleurotomaria  turbinella. 
Bellerophon  carbonarius. 
Bellerophon  Montfortianus. 
Bellerophon  percarinatus. 
Bellerophon  Stevensanus. 
Nucula  ventricosa. 


Platyceras  tortum. 

Synocladia  biserialis. 

Lophophyllum  proliferum. 

Orthoceras  cribrosum. 
Zeacrinusmucrospinus,and  numerous 
fragments  of  crinoids. 


Tlie  Freeport  Upper  Limestone  lies  from  225  to  265  feet 
above  the  Ferriferous  but  is  a  very  different  rock.  It 
is  light  gray  in  color  with  a  rather  variegated  face  when 
newly  fractured,  is  from  one  to  five  feet  thick,  and  always 
lies  above  the  greater  part  of  its  associate  iron  ore.  At  its 
outcrop  it  seldom  shows  more  than  a  mass  of  water- worn 
boulders, — sometimes  nodules, — which  are  often  covered 
with  a  yellowish  argillaceous,  and  at  times  ferruginous, 
layer  from  £  to  1  inch  thick.  TsTo  fossils  have  been  found 
in  it  except  a  few  very  small  fresh  water  shells. 

The  Freeport  Lower  Limestone  is  not  so  persistent  as  the 
Upper  bed,  except  over  certain  areas  where  it  appears  to  be 
quite  constant.  It  is  more  ferruginous  and  earthy  than 
the  Upper  bed  and  generally  not  more  than  one  or  two  feet 
thick,  often  consisting  of  what  at  first  sight  appears  to  be  a 
succession  of  concretionary  nodular  masses  of  very  ferru¬ 
ginous  character.  It  is  non-fossiliferous  and  is  sometimes 
entirely  replaced  by  iron  ore 

In  Chapter  I  of  Part  II  will  be  found  a  description  of  the 
two  Mercer  Limestones  (Mahoning  and  Mercer  of  QQ). 
They  need  never  be  mistaken  for  the  Ferriferous. 

In  conclusion  we  may  state  that  there  is  no  similarity 
whatever  between  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  and  any  other 
bed  found  in  the  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures.  They 
are  all  more  impure,  are  non-fossiliferous,  do  not  present 
the  withered  appearance  of  the  former,  and  but  seldom  are 
exposed  in  natural  outcrops. 

We  are  therefore  prepared  to  advocate  to  the  fullest  ex¬ 
tent  the  use  of  this  stratum  as  a  “key-rock”  to  the  forma- 


148  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


tions  both  above  and  beneath  it,  and  have  so  utilized  it 
throughout  this  report. 

The  Butler  Countv  Third  Oil  Sand  is  found  at  from  1160 
to  1200  feet  beneath  the  top  of  the  Ferriferous  and  the 
Fourth  Sand  at  about  60  feet  beneath  the  Third.  The  paral¬ 
lelism  between  two  such  widely  separated  rocks  is  certainly 
very  remarkable,  for  at  Oil  City  the  interval  between  them 
is  very  nearly  the  same  as  at  Karn’s  City,  the  two  places 
being  over  thirty  miles  apart. 

All  of  the  Butler  county  oil  operators  are  well  acquainted 
with  the  regularity  in  this  interval  from  the  Limestone 
down  to  the  Third  Sand,  and  have  been  saved  many  thou¬ 
sands  of  dollars  by  it.  When  the  driller  is  ignorant  of  the 
position  of  the  Limestone,  with  reference  to  the  well  mouth, 
he  is  uncertain  where  the  oil  sand  will  be  found,  and  it  is 
sometimes  pierced  unexpectedly,  before  any  preparations 
have  been  made  for  storing  the  oil,  and  if  a  flowing  well  is 
struck,  it  frequently  flows  upon  the  ground  for  nearly  two 
days  before  any  tanks  can  be  erected. 

In  Chapter  IY  this  limestone  is  used  as  a  key-rock,  and 
it  is  there  shown  that  the  distance  of  any  coal  bed  above  or 
below  it,  will  generally  determine  correctly  the  name  of  the 
coal.  The  generalization  given  in  that  chapter  is  of  course 
only  applicable  to  the  area  between  the  Allegheny  and 
Beaver  Fivers,  and  would  require  some  modification  to 
make  it  agree  with  the  stratification  east  or  west  of  this  dis¬ 
trict,  and  would  also  require  some  alteration  when  applied 
to  the  country  south  of  Butler.  In  the  vicinity  of  Pitts¬ 
burgh  these  measures  are  far  beneath  water  level,  but  we 
have  obtained  some  little  insight  into  their  character  from 
the  records  of  oil  and  gas  wells  (See  Report  I.I.I).'* 

*The  facts  embraced  in  this  chapter,  have  been  obtained,  partly  from  my 
surveys  of  Butler  County  in  1878,  of  the  Beaver  and  Shenango  valleys  in  1875 
(See  Part  II)  and  partly  from  data  collected  in  the  oil  regions  during  my 
connection  with  Mr.  Carll  in  1876-7.  Having  long  felt  the  need  of  a  com¬ 
prehensive  description  of  this,  the  most  important  stratum  of  the  Lower 
Productive  coal  measures,  I  have  prepared  this  summary  of  facts,  not  only 
to  supply  such  need,  but  to  justify  the  prominence  that  I  have  given  to  this 
stratum  throughout  the  report. 


Chapter  XI. 

83.  Oil  Fields  of  Butler  County. 


The  first  producing  wells  in  this  county  were  located  in 
the  northeast  corner  of  Parker,  and  southeast  corner  of  Al¬ 
legheny  township  in  what  was  then  called  the  Parker  Oil 
District.  They  were  not  very  large  wells,  but  nearly  all  of 
them  produced  oil  in  paying  quantities  and  some  of  the 
rather  better  ones  averaged  a  production  of  from  50  to  150 
bbls.  per  diem  for  a  long  period.  The  territory  in  that 
neighborhood  has  held  out  quite  well,  and  many  of  the  old 
wells  are  still  producing  enough  to  make  it  an  object  to 
pump  them.  Under  stimulus  from  the  high  price  of  oil  in 
1876-7  many  wells  that  had  been  abandoned  during  the 
depression  of  ’74  were  cleaned  out  and  pumped,  in  some  in¬ 
stances  yielding  as  high  as  5  to  8  barrels  per  day. 

They  are  all  Third  Sand  wells,  and  the  character  of  the 
stratification  is  here  in  such  conformity  with  the  Venan¬ 
go  county  drillings,  that  it  is  fair  to  conclude  that  this 
sand  is  truly  equivalent  or  of  contemporaneous  origin 
with  the  Third  Sand  of  Oil  Creek  and  Bullion.  Xo  other 
locality  on  the  Butler-Clarion  belt  shows  such  an  agree¬ 
ment  with  the  arrangement  of  the  sands  on  the  Venango 
belt  as  here  exists.  The  First,  Second  and  Third  Sands 
can  all  be  recognized  at  their  proper  horizons  in  well 
records  from  this  locality,  but  at  all  other  places  in  the 
county  these  sands  are  so  split  up  by  shales,  slates,  and 
red  rocks  that  it  is  generally  impossible  to  tell  where  the 
First  Sand  ends  and  the  Second  begins,  or  where  the  latter 
ends  and  the  Third  begins.  The  names  given  to  the  differ¬ 


ent  members  of  the  group  are  purely  arbitrary  and  do  not 
express  any  synchronism  between  the  individual  sandstones 
here,  and  those  on  Oil  Creek.  At  the  latter  place  the 
names  “First,”  “Second”  and  “  Third”  were  given  to  three 

(149) 


150  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  IT.  M.  CHANCE. 


easily  recognized  sandrocks  occupying  a  space  (vertically) 
of  between  300  and  350  feet.  The  Second  Sand  occurs  at 
about  the  middle  of  the  group.  Each  sand  may  roughly 
be  said  to  average  40  feet  in  thickness.  This  type  of  strati¬ 
fication  as  shown  by  Mr.  Carll  in  report  1. 1. 1.  has  been  traced 
southwest  as  far  as  the  southern  limits  of  the  Bullion  Oil 
Field,  and  in  the  prolongation  of  the  same  line  may  be  rec¬ 
ognized  in  Butler  County  as  far  as  Muddy  Creek.  But  the 
only  place  on  the  Butler- Clarion  belt  at  which  it  is  plainly 
exhibited  is  at  Parker. 

In  the  Butler  District  the  group  of  sands  is  found  intact, 
but  shows  a  very  different  arrangement  from  the  Oil  Creek 
type.  In  the  following  summary,  which  is  the  drillers’  no¬ 
menclature,  the  so-called  “First  Sand”  has  been  omitted, 
because  it  is  not  the  true  First  Sand,  but  the  “Third  Moun¬ 
tain  Sand,”  or  Berea  Grit.  It  is  separated  from  the  true 
First  Sand  (Drillers’  “Second  Sand”)  by  a  thick  band  of 
soft  shales  and  slates,  containing  sometimes  the  Bedford 
(Ohio)  Red  Rock. 

Drillers'  Nomenclature. 

Second  Sand. 

(Interval.) 

Fifty-foot  Rock. 


(Oil  Creek  “First  Sand.”) 

(Oil  at  Martinsburg,  Six  Points?,  etc.) 
» 

(Oil  at  Martinsburg.) 


(Interval.) 

Tliirty-foot  Rod 
(Interval.) 

Blue  Monday. 

(Interval.) 

Boulder. 

(Interval.) 

Stray  Third. 

(Interval.) 

Third  Sand. 

(Interval. ) 

Stray  Fourth. 

(Interval.) 

Fourth  Sand.  (Oil  on  “Cross-belt.”) 

Though  these  sandrocks  are  all  very  variable,  both  in 
thickness  and  composition,  and  are  sej>arated  by  equally  in- 


( Locally  oil  bearing.) 
(Main  oil  horizon.) 
(Locally  oil  bearing.) 


OIL  FIELDS  OF  BUTLER  COUNTY. 


Y.  151 


constant  bands  of  sliale,  slate,  and  red  rock,  the  total  thick¬ 
ness  of  the  group  is  subject  to  but  slight  variations,  usually 
ranging  from  275  to  325  feet  with  an  occasional  thickness 
of  350  feet.  Often  several  of  these  rocks  are  entirely  re¬ 
placed  by  soft  measures,  and  again,  the  soft  rocks  will  pinch 
out,  allowing  two  or  more  of  the  sandrocks  to  coalesce. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  is  used  as  a  “Key  rock” 
throughout  the  district,  the  Third  Sand  being  looked  for 
at  1160  to  1200  feet,  and  the  Fourth  at  1250  to  1275  feet 
beneath  its  top. 

The  Butler  'District,  like  all  other  oil  territory,  has  been 
developed  spasmodically  in  local  patches.  In  1873  some 
adventurous  producers  began  drilling  far  ahead  of  jwoven 
territory,  in  the  area  now  known  as  -the  Greece  and  Modoc 
District,  and  were  quite  unexpectedly  rewarded  by  large 
wells.  The  first  of  these  was  the  Troutman  Well  at  Modoc, 
which  was  struck  March  23rd,  1873. 

The  county  was  immediately  swarming  with  speculators 
and  producers,  who  started  wells  in  all  directions.  Some 
of  these  were  located  between  Parker  and  Modoc,  some 
south  and  west  from  Modoc,  some  near  Butler  and  others 
east  of  these  lines.  Shortly  after  the  Troutman  Well  was 
struck,  good  wells  were  obtained  at  Petrolia,  and  in  an  in¬ 
credibly  short  time  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Butler  District 
was  in  an  advanced  stage  of  development. 

The  location  of  wells  at  Greece,  Petrolia,  and  Armstrong 
Bun  (Armstrong  county)  in  an  apparently  lower  sand 
(“Fourth  Sand”)  than  the  “Third  Sand,”  gave  rise  to  the 
“Cross  belt”  theory,  and  in  1874  this  belt  was  pretty 
thoroughly  developed.  It  yielded  very  large  wells,  some 
of  which  produced  over  3000  barrels  a  day  when  first  struck, 
but  they  all  declined  very  rapidly  and  soon  the  best  of 
them  were  moderate  sized  “pumpers.” 

Meanwhile  developments  had  been  progressing  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  Third  Sand  Belt,  and  the  territory 
around  St.  Joe  had  been  opened  up,  and  in  1875-6  the  Car¬ 
bon  Centre  district  was  reached. 

Most  of  the  territory  between  Petrolia  and  Parker  was  at 
first  neglected,  and  it  was  not  until  the  areas  surrounding 


152  Y.  EEPOET  OF  PEOGEESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

Parker,  Karns  City,  and  Millerstown  had  been  pretty  well 
perforated,  that  this  portion  of  the  district  was  operated 
upon. 

In  1876  and  1877  several  new  productive  patches  were 
discovered  northwest  and  southwest  of  Martinsburg,  and 
west  of  Parker.  These  obtained  their  oil  from  the  “Thirty- 
foot  Pock,”  though  some  of  them  have  produced  from  the 
Third  Sand,  and  some  have  found  small  quantities  in  the 
“Fifty-foot  Pock.” 

In  1877  the  Millerstown  Eastern  Belt  and  the  Kaylor  dis¬ 
trict  were  discovered,  and  a  new  pool  was  'found  at  the 
mouth  of  Whiskey  Pun,  in  Armstrong  county.  These 
found  their  oil  in  the  Fourth  Sand. 

The  production  of  these  additional  areas  has  been  entirely 
too  small  to  compensate  for  the  failing  production  of  the 
older  wells,  so  that  the  pipe  line  runs  for  1876-7-8  show  a 
great  falling  away  from  the  amount  produced  in  1874-5. 

The  ‘  ‘  wild-catting 5  ’  *  that  has  been  done  all  over  the 
county,  has  thus  far  failed  to  discover  any  productive 
territory  west  of  the  so-called  Third  and  Fourth  Sand 
belts.  At  ITermon  Station,  on  the  Butler  Branch  P.  R., 
and  also  at  the  Humes  Farm,  -J  mile  east  of  Jeffersonville, 
in  Clearfield  township,  a  small  area  has  been  found  over 
which  Fourth  Sand  wells  of  medium  size  are  obtained,  but 
these  patches  lie  so  far  south  that  the  sand  is  only  reached 
after  drilling  to  a  depth  of  from  1600  to  1800  feet,  and  can 
only  be  profitably  operated  upon  in  times  of  high  priced  oil. 

Near  Six  Points  in  Allegheny  township,  there  is  a  very 
fair  local  development  in  a  sand  which  probably  belongs  to 
a  lower  series  of  rocks  (geologically)  than  the  oil  sands  of 
the  Third  Sand  Belt.  A  full  description  of  their  drillings 
is  given  in  the  report  on  Allegheny  township.  If,  as  I  have 
there  stated,  the  Six  Points  oil  rock  is  Chemung,  it  follows 
that  we  may  never  expect  to  find  a  connection  between  the 
Bullion  and  Parker  oil  sands,  and  we  must  consider  them 
as  two  independent  ranges  of  rock  of  the  same  age. 

Two  miles  northwest  from  North  Washington  are  the 


*  Drilling  wells  in  “  wild  cat  ”  or  undeveloped  territory. 


OIL  FIELDS  OF  BUTLER  COUNTY. 


Y.  153 


Bumbaugh  oil  wells.  Three  or  four  wells  have  been 
drilled  there,  and  two  have  yielded  oil  in  jjaying  quanti¬ 
ties  from  a  sand  which  lies  at  the  proper  depth  beneath  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone,  to  be  either  the  Butler  Third  or 
Fourth  Sand.  A  detailed  description  of  these  wells  will  be 
found  in  Chapter  IX.  It  is  possible  that  the  rock  there 
found  may  be  an  outlier  from  the  southward  prolongation 
of  the  Venango-Bull  ion  Oil  Sand. 

Phillips  Brothers,  the  large  Bullion  operators,  as  well  as 
IT.  L.  Taylor,  Nesbitt,  and  other  prominent  producers,  have 
spent  much  time  and  money  searching  after  an  extension 
of  this  (Bullion)  belt  in  the  western  part  of  the  county. 
The  facts  brought  out  by  the  John  Smith,  Bumbaugh,  Wolf 
Creek,  Slippery  Bock  Creek,  and  other  oil  well  records, 
make  it  appear  more  than  probable  that  the  Venango  Group 
of  sandrocks  does  have  a  fair  development  in  that  part  of 
the  county. 

At  Baymilton,  in  Venango  county,  eight  miles  northwest 
of  the  Venango  oil  belt,  the  structure  shown  by  all  the 
wells  may  be  stated  thus : 


Bed  rock,  thick, . 100' 

First  Oil  Sand,  .  . . 20' 


Interval — no  Second  Sand. 

Third  Oil  Sand — grey  and  poor. 

The  Wolf  Creek  well  record  may  be  generalized  in  a 


similar  manner : 

Bed  rock,  . SO' 

First  Oil  Sand, . . IF 

Interval — no  Second  Sand. 


Third  (?)  Oil  Sand — grey  ;  oil  show  in  “stray.” 

This  is  an  almost  exact  agreement  in  structure,  and  it 
it  is  but  reasonable  to  conclude  that  at  the  Wolf  Creek  well 
we  are  oriented  in  the  same  position  with  respect  to  the 
Venango  belt,  as  at  Baymilton.  The  Venango  Group  of 
sandrocks  therefore  should  be  looked  for  in  the  country  east 
of  Wolf  creek. 

The  record  of  the  John  Smith  well,  near  Muddy  creek, 
exhibits  a  stratification  agreeing  in  every  particular  with 
that  of  the  Venango-Bullion  type,  and  it  is  quite  probable 


154  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


tliat  this  well  is  located  within  the  locus  of  that  group. 
It  also  seems  probable,  from  the  above  deduction,  that  the 
Rumbaugh  wells  are  on  the  pebbly  edges  of  the  Oil  Creek 
Third  Sand.  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  these  facts,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  Mr.  CarlT  s  Report. 

The  existence  of  this  group  of  oil  rocks  does  not  unfail¬ 
ingly  insure  the  presence  of  oil  in  paying  quantities,  nor 
does  it,  if  productive,  denote  the  existence  of  any  large 
area  of  paying  territory.  On  the  contrary,  all  the  facts  in 
our  possession  indicate  that  if  this  region  ever  proves  pro¬ 
ductive,  it  will  be  in  isolated  pools  or  patches,  and  not  con¬ 
tinuous  as  such  for  any  great  distance. 

The  connection  from  Clintonville  southward  seems  to  be 
effectually  broken  by  the  great  number  of  dry  holes  ob¬ 
tained  at  Murrinsville,  (see  Marion  township,)  and  wells  at 
Annandale,  and  on  both  the  north  and  south  branches  of 
Slippery  Rock  creek,  together  with  others  in  Cherry,  Clay, 
and  Franklin  townships,  besides  three  on  Muddy  creek, 
prove  that  if  these  measures  do  exist,  they  can  only  be 
productive  in  narrow  “streaks”  or  small  pools;  but  there 
is  still  room  left  for  several  local  developments,  such  as 
the  Bullion  district. 

In  the  present  depressed  condition  of  the  oil  business, 
with  the  heavy  stocks  on  hand,  and  the  large  production  of 
the  Bradford  oil  field,  it  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped  that  no 
such  tracts  will  be  discovered. 

Since  the  birth  of  the  “Cross  belt”  theory  constant  ef¬ 
forts  have  been  made  to  find  some  extension  of  its  produc¬ 
tive  area  southwest  from  Greece  City,  but  they  have  hith¬ 
erto  x^roven  futile,  and  it  seems  to  be  pretty  clearly  demon¬ 
strated  that  there  are  no  undeveloped  tracts  remaining  in 
that  vicinity. 


§  8Jf.  Theory  of  “  Belt  Lines T 

The  Butler  Countv  Oil  District  has  been  the  means  of  con- 
verting  hundreds  of  producers  to  an  unreasoning,  dogmatic 
belief  in  this  theory,  which,  as  generally  accepted,  is  that 
the  productive  or  pebbly  streaks  of  the  oil  sand  run  in 


BELT  LINES. 


Y.  155 


unvarying  straight  lines  that  can  be  traced  as  such  by 
means  of  compass .  or  transit  lines,  for  several  miles  ;  and 
wells  located  accurately  on  these  lines  will  always  prove 
productive.  The  fallacy  a  theory  so  stated  is  self  evident 
to  anyone  familiar  with  the  character  of  sedimentary  rocks, 
and  the  agencies  by  which  they  were  deposited.  But  within 
certain  limits ,  and  when  used  in  a  general  way,  the  idea  is 
a  good  one,  and  has  saved  large  sums  to  operators  in  this 
district. 

If,  as  Mr.  Carll  has  suggested,  these  rocks  were  sea  shore 
deposits,  or  if  they  were  oh-shore  current  deposits,  their 
pebbly  layers  would  certainly  be  roughly  conformable  to 
that  shore,  and  would  constitute  a  system  of  sand  bars  or 
beaches,  of  irregular  shape,  never  very  wide,  but  running, 
within  certain  limits,  in  a  given  direction,  subject  of  course 
to  curves  or  other  departures  from  a  straight  line  that  can 
now  only  be  determined  by  the  drill.  We  may  then  rely 
in  a  great  measure  on  the  general  trend  of  the  productive 
areas  when  looking  for  their  continuation  southwest  or 
northeast,  but  to  depend  upon  a  compass  line  to  trace  out  one 
individual  sandy  strealt  is,  as  Prof.  Lesley  has  described 
it,  like  a  boy  marking  pencil  lines  on  the  top  board  of  a  wood 
pile  to  determine  the  direction  of  the  grain  in  the  bottom 
board. 

The  general  trend  of  the  Butler  Belt  is  south  22°  west, 
some  operators  making  use  of  22-J-0,  and  others  of  20°  north 
by  east. 

On  the  Fourth  Sand  or  Cross-belt,  the  belt  lines  used  in 
locating  wells  vary  from  ~N.  45°  E.  to  N.  88°  E  .the  belt 
showing  a  decided  curve  from  northeast  to  southwest. 

Within  the  last  two  years  lines  of  all  imaginable  bear¬ 
ings  have  been  run  across  the  country  in  the  vain  attempts 
to  trace  out  the  prolongation  of  locally  productive  pools. 
At  the  time  of  the  Millerstown  Eastern  Belt  excitement 
lines  were  run  in  every  direction,  northeast,  north,  north¬ 
west,  southwest,  south  and  southeast,  from  the  productive 
streak,  showing  how  reluctant  men  are  to  abandon  a  method 
they  have  once  successfully  used,  even  after  it  has  been 
proven  to  be  no  longer  valuable  to  them.  The  following  fig- 


156  Y.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

ures  show  the  elevation  above  or  below  ocean  level  of  the  top 
of  the  Third  and  Fourth  Oil  Sand,  at  the  principal  towns 
within  the  productive  limits.  The  elevations  above  ocean 
level  are  marked  and  those  below  are  marked — . 

By  means  of  these  elevations,  and  the  tables  giving  the 
oil  well  elevations,  the  depth  of  the  productive  rock  be¬ 
neath  the  surface,  can  readily  be  determined : 


85.  Oil  Sand  Elevations. 


Locality.  Third  Sand.  Fourth  Sand. 

Columbia  Hill, . above  ocean,  .  .  -flOO' 

Parker, . above  ocean,  .  .  -j-  60' 

Farrentown, . above  ocean,  .  .  +  10' 

Stone  House, . below  ocean,  .  .  —  8' 

Martinsburgh, . below  ocean,  .  .  —  30' 

Fronsinger  Farm, . below  ocean,  .  .  —  20' 

Argyle, . below  ocean,  .  .  —  70' 

Petrolia, . below  ocean,  .  .  — 100' 

Fair  view, . below  ocean,  .  .  —  90'  ....  — 175' 

Modoc, . .  .  .  below  ocean,  .  . — 120' (?)  .  .  .  . — 200' 

Greece, . below  ocean,  .  .  — 220  ....  — 300' 

Criswell, . below  ocean,  .  .  — 105’  ....  — 190' 

Brady’s  Bend,  (Furnaces,)  .  .below  ocean,  .  .  — 130'  (?)  .  .  .  .—215' 

Karns  City, . below  ocean,  .  .  — 160'  ....  — 250' 

Millerstown, . below  ocean,  .  .  — 215'  ....  — 320' 

St.  Joe, . below  ocean,  .  .  — 260'  ....  — 335' (?) 

Carbon  Centre, . below  ocean,  .  .  — 294'  ....  — 376' 

Hume’s  Farm, . below  ocean,  .  . — 375' (?)  .  .  .  . — 457' 

Hermon  Station, . below  ocean,  .  . — 418' (?)  .  .  .  . — 500' 


These  elevations  show  that  the  average  dip  south  by  west 
is  about  23  feet  per  mile. 


§  86.  Oil  Well  Elevations. 

The  subjoined  tables  of  oil  well  elevations  were  compiled 
in  1877  for  publication  in  Mr.  Carll’s  report  1. 1,  partly  from 
Mr.  Hatch’s  field  notes,  and  partly  from  my  own  surveys, 
and  a  number  of  detached  surveys  made  by  private  individ¬ 
uals,  reducing  them  all  to  the  ocean  level  datum  deter¬ 
mined  by  Mr.  John  H.  Carll’s  releveling  of  the  Allegheny 
Valley  and  Butler  Branch  railroads. * 


*  For  these  surveys  see  Report  I.I.  chap.  XXVI. 


OIL  WELL  ELEVATIONS. 


Y.  157 


Tlie  main  line  of  levels  from  Parker,  sou tli west  along  tlie 
oil  belt,  checked  within  four  tenths  of  a  foot  at  Summit  and 
Great  Belt  stations  on  the  Butler  Branch  road,  showing 
that  there  can  be  but  little  error  in  any  of  the  heights  de¬ 
termined  by  it. 

In  regard  to  the  method  by  which  these  elevations  were 
obtained,  I  quote  what  Mr.  Carll  says  of  them  (chap.  XXV). 

‘‘Our  plan  has  been,  in  leveling  through  a  closely  drilled 
district,  to  keep  the  direct  line  of  levels  with  a  great  deal  of 
care,  while  the  numerous  side  wells  are  taken  more  rapidly 
and  with  less  caution,  and  the  notes  used  in  such  a  manner 
as  not  to  affect  the  integrity  of  the  main  line  in  case  an  error 
of  a  few’  inches  should  be  made  on  any  particular  side  well. 
The  variation  of  a  foot,  or  even  more,  in  the  actual  levels 
between  two  wells  is  practically  of  no  account  in  a  study  of 
their  records,  for  be  the  levels  to  the  well  mouths  ever  so 
precise  we  are  still  dependent  on  the  drillers’  measurement 
of  the  bore  hole,  where  an  error  is  quite  likely  to  occur,  for 
the  most  important  elements  in  our  calculations. 

“But  while  the  plan  adopted  secured  good  results  along 
the  main  line,  which  was  found  to  run  through  with  very 
gratifying  accuracy  from  Parkers  to  Great  Belt  City,  it  is 
still  open  to  an  opportunity  for  slight  disagreements,  which, 
although  really  of  no  importance,  may  make  some  of  the 
levels  appear  to  lack  that  strict  consistency  and  relative 
agreement  which  are  regarded  as  the  proofs  of  accurate  in¬ 
strumental  work. 

“Transverse lines  must  necessarily  be  run,  and  these  may 
be  for  convenience,  or  thoughtlessly,  based  by  one  jiarty  on 
some  one  of  the  secondary  wells  of  another  party,  and  the 
possibility  of  error  may  be  augmented,  perhaps,  by  taking 
the  casing  head  as  the  level  point  where  the  derrick  floor 
was  previously  used,  or  vice  versa.  Thus  disagreements 
appear  which  are  not  due  to  instrumental  inaccuracies,  but 
to  a  misunderstanding  of  hasty  or  meagre  notes. 

“Another  difficulty  encountered  by  every  engineer  who 
has  undertaken  this  kind  of  work,  is  to  obtain  the  names  of 
the  wells  and  their  locations  so  that  they  can  at  all  times 
thereafter  be  identified  by  himself  and  others.  He  may 


158  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


learn  that  this  is  Smith  well  No.  1,  farm  unknown.  It  is 
perhaps  the  only  well  in  the  vicinity  at  the  time,  and  the 
name  seems  definite  enough.  But  a  few  months  later  some 
one  attempts  to  connect  his  levels  with  Smith  No.  1,  and 
he  finds  that  Mr.  Smith  has  a  lease  on  the  Jenkins  farm 
and  another  adjoining  on  the  Jones  farm. 

“  There  is  now  a  Smith  No.  1  on  each  lease,  and  which  is 
the  well  referred  to  no  one  can  tell  to  a  certainty,  but  the 
probabilities  are  he  will  be  directed  to  the  wrong  one,  and 
a  disagreement  of  levels  is  the  result.  Then,  too,  the  pump¬ 
ers  frequently  have  one  name  for  a  well  while  the  owners 
have  another,  and  the  name  is  changed  as  often  as  the  own¬ 
ership  of  the  well  changes. 

“  But  notwithstanding  the  drawbacks  mentioned,  the  pub¬ 
lication  of  these  well  elevations  cannot  but  be  of  great  ser¬ 
vice  to  a  large  class  of  oil  operators.  They  give  a  general 
idea  of  the  topography  of  the  country,  and  afford  the  means 
of  approximate  comparisons  of  levels  both  of  surface  and 
oil  sands  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  localities 
and  the  histories  of  the  wells,  which  could  not  be  obtained 
in  any  other  way.” 


Wells  in  the  Vicinity  of  Parker. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 
ab.  ocean. 

1205* 

J.  E.  Brown, . 

Parker  City, . 

Perry,  Arm- 

879 

1206 

Clearfield, . 

Lawrenceburg, . 

strong  Co., 

1096 

1207 

Maggie, . 

Farrentown, . 

do. 

1140 

1208 

Parsons, . 

do.  . 

do. 

1036 

1209 

Armstead, . 

do.  . 

do. 

1140 

1210 

Sulphur  Water  Well, 

Thoms  Run,  . 

do. 

942 

1211 

Lioness, . 

Duchess  Farm, . 

Allegheny, 

1066 

1212 

Divide  or  “Vide,”  .  . 

do.  do . 

Butler  Co., 

1104 

1213 

Forker,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1097 

1214 

Cntchlow, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1097 

1215 

Marion, . 

Robinson  Farm, . 

do. 

1161 

1216 

Dull, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1174 

1217 

Clifford, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1171 

1218 

Game, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1104 

1219 

Darling . 

do. 

1102 

1220 

Well,  .... 

Columbia  Hill, . 

do. 

1452 

1221 

Well,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1460 

1222 

Well,  .... 

do.  do . . 

do. 

1465 

*  These  figures  are  the  running  index  numbers  of  Report  1.1. 


OIL  WELL  ELEVATIONS. 


Y.  159 


Name. 

Locality 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1223 

Well,  .... 

Columbia  Hill, . 

Allegheny, 

1471 

1224 

Well,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1464 

1225 

Columbia,  No.  3,  .  .  . 

Reddick  Farm, . 

do. 

1490 

1226 

Columbia,  No.  2,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1479 

1227 

Hoopskirt,  No.  1,  .  . 

Robinson  (?)  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1311 

1228 

Hoopskirt,  No.  4,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1379 

1229 

Tycoon, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1332 

1230 

Booth, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1319 

1231 

Exchange, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1235 

1232 

Mystic,  .  . . 

Robinson  or  Duchess,  .  . 

do. 

1236 

1233 

Maple  Shade,  .... 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1290 

1234 

South  Side, . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1319 

1235 

Well,  .  . 

Black  Farm, . 

do. 

1223 

1236 

Well,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1182 

1237 

Well,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1184 

1238 

Well,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1171 

Wells  at  Stonehouse. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1239 

Ed.  Bennett,  No.  1,  .  . 

Stonehouse  Tract,  .... 

Parker, 

1015 

1240 

Ed.  Bennett,  No.  2,  .  . 

do.  do.  .... 

do. 

1007 

1241 

Butler,  No.  1, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1005 

1242 

Well, . 

Person’s  (?)  F.,  N.  Bear  cr., 

do. 

1149 

Wells  near  Martinsburg ,  Campbell  and  Argyle. 


Name. 

Locality. 

/ 

Township. 

Elevation 
ab.  ocean. 

1243 

Hart  &  Hicks,  No.  1,  . 

H.  H.  Say  Farm, . 

Parker, 

1289 

1244 

Hart  &  Hicks,  No.  2,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1371 

1245 

Hart  &  Hicks,  No.  -,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1407 

1246 

Cornwall,  No.  1,  .  .  . 

Near  Martinsburg,  .... 

do. 

1319 

1247 

Jacobs . . 

Sedgwick  Farm, . 

do. 

1156 

1248 

Billy  Patterson,  .  .  . 

Fronsmger  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1382 

1249 

Jenkins, . 

Say  (?)  Farm, . 

do. 

1132 

1250 

Rattling  Jack,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1183 

1251 

Brawley,  No.  1,  ... 

Fletcher  Farm, . 

do. 

1127 

1252 

Arrowsmith, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1129 

1253 

Bennett,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1138 

1254 

Wildcat,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

do. 

1135 

1255 

Harrington,  No.  1,  .  . 

Gibson  Farm, . 

do. 

1138 

1256 

Rebecca  Jane,  .... 

do. 

1143 

1257 

Ingleside, . 

do. 

1146 

1258 

Rosebud, . 

Fairview, 

1151 

1259 

Harrop  &  Co.,  .... 

Harrop  Farm, . 

do. 

1149 

160  Y 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1260 

Emery  &  Caldwell, 

No.  1, . 

Emery  &  Caldwell, 
No.  4, . 

R.  D.  Campbell  Farm,  .  . 

Fairview, 

1156 

1261 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1160 

1262 

Robt.  Campbell,  .  .  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1157 

1263 

Argyle,  . 

A.  L.  Campbell  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1163 

1264 

Satterfield  &,  Taylor,  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1162 

1265 

Bly  &  Rowley,  No.  2,  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1171 

1266 

Good  Enough,  No.  1,  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1164 

1267 

Good  Enough,  No.  2,  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1171 

1268 

A.  L.  Campbell,  No.  3, 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1171 

1269 

A.  L.  Campbell,  No.  -, 

do.  do,  .  . 

do. 

1168 

1270 

Lady  Campbell,  .  .  . 

do. 

1166 

Wells  near  Petrolia  and  Karns  City . 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

12tl 

Shidemantle,  .... 

Petrolia, . 

Fairview, 

1171 

1272 

Lightfoot,  ..... 

do . 

do. 

1175 

1273 

S.  N.  Delap,  No.  1.  .  . 

do . 

do. 

1177 

1274 

Nesbit  &  Lardin,  No.  1, 

J.  Blaney  Farm, . 

do. 

1179 

1275 

Nesbit  &  Lardin,  No.  3, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1188 

1276 

Nesbit& Lardin,  No.  5, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1181 

1277 

Hazlewood  Co.,  No.  -, 

Blaney  or  Slieakley  Farm, 

do. 

1198 

1278 

Plazlewood  Co.,  No. 

do.  do.  do. 

do. 

1176 

1279 

Ralph, . 

W.  A.  Wilson  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1190 

1280 

Spence, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1206 

1281 

Hazlewood,  No.  8,  .  . 

IT.  P.  Sheakley  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1189 

1282 

Hazlewood,  No.  13,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1226 

1283 

Hazlewood,  No.  21,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1298 

1284 

Hazlewood,  No.  — ,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1202 

1285 

Slieakley,  No.  1,  .  .  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1214 

1286 

Say,  No.  1, . 

Mrs.  Smith’s  Farm, 

do. 

1185 

1287 

Say,  No.  2, . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1184 

1288 

Smith  &  Thompson,  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1206 

1289 

Perdue,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1192 

1290 

Perdue,  No.  2,  .  .  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1191 

1291 

Preston  Water  Well,  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1196 

1292 

Christian  &  Cameron, 

Hazlewood  Oil  Co.  Tract, 

do. 

1210 

1293 

McDonald, . 

do.  do.  do. 

do. 

1187 

1294 

Frothingham,  No.  1,  . 

M.  Banks  Farm, . 

do. 

1198 

1295 

Banks,  No.  1,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1196 

1296 

Banks,  No.  2,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1197 

1297 

Mattison  &  McDonald, 

McClyman’s  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1244 

1298 

Rob  Roy, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1221 

1299 

McClymans,  No.  7,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1297 

1300 

Nesbit  &  Lardin,  No.  2, 

Jamieson  Farm, . 

do. 

1185 

1301 

Templeton . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1222 

1302 

Banks &Gaily,  .  .  .  . 

W.  Scott  Farm, . 

do. 

1221 

]303 

Tack&Moroliead,No.l, 

McAlear  (?)  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1233 

1304 

Tack  &Morehead,No.2, 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1229 

OIL  WELL  ELEVATIONS 


Y.  161 


Wells  near  Petrolia  and  Fairvieio. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1305 

Jennings,  No.  5,  .  .  . 

Dougherty  Farm,  .... 

Fairview, 

1217 

1306 

Reed, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1222 

1807 

Newton . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1231 

1308 

Evans,  No.  21,  ...  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1393 

1309 

Hornet, . 

McCleary  Farm, . 

do. 

1284 

1310 

Spider, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1264 

1311 

Dougherty,  No.  2,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1327 

1312 

Mitchell,  No.  2,  ... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1317 

1313 

Strickland  &  Fuller,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1322 

1314 

Cleminger  &  Maxwell, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1399 

1315 

Sutton,  No.  4,  .... 

P.  Sutton  Farm, . 

do. 

1436 

1316 

Mary  Ann, . 

W.  Wilson  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1288 

1317 

Lauretta,  No.  1,  ... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1254 

1318 

Lauretta,  No.  2,  ... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1324 

1319 

Hope, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1269 

1320 

Shanghai, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1306 

1321 

Anderson, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1360 

1322 

Mayville,  No.  2,  .  .  . 

Mayville  Tract, . 

do. 

1374 

1323 

Mayville,  No.  4  ?  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1331 

1324 

Patton,  No.  2,  .... 

Patton  Farm, . 

do. 

1369 

Wells  near  Modoc  and  Greece  City. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 
ab.  ocean. 

1325 

Down  East,  No.  1,  .  . 

D.  C.  Rankin  Farm,  .  .  . 

Concord, 

1246 

1326 

Down  East,  No.  2,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1220 

1327 

Dougherty,  No.  -,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1219 

1328 

Dougherty,  No.  -,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1237 

1329 

Maggie, . 

Ralston  Farm, . 

do. 

1249 

1330 

Frank, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1224 

1331 

Hare, . 

J.  Starr  Farm, . 

do. 

1248 

1332 

Osceola, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1219 

1333 

Maud  Jack, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1220 

1334 

Brawl  ey  &  Overy,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1239 

1335 

Modoc . 

S.  Troutman  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1227 

1336 

Hope,  No.  2, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1228 

1337 

Hope,  No.  1, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1229 

1338 

High  Flyer, . 

do.  do.  .  .  , 

do. 

1231 

1339 

Dead  Beat, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1277 

1340 

Mohawk,  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1273 

1341 

Forest  City, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1272 

1342 

Smith, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1249 

1343 

Hooker  Jim, . 

J.  Sutton  Farm, . 

do. 

1249 

1344 

Sutton, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1261 

1345 

Darrar, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1286 

1346 

Lady  Sutton, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1268 

1347 

Columbia  Oil  Co., No.  2, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1281 

1348 

Columbia  Oil  Co., No.  -, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1288 

11  Y. 


162  V 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1349 

Gordon,  No.  19,  ... 

S.  McClelland  Farm,  .  .  . 

Concord, 

1281 

1350 

Miller  Oil  Co.,  No.  1,  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1254 

1351 

Lady  McClelland,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1269 

1352 

Glade, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1253 

1353 

Hoover, . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1220 

1354 

McClelland,  No.  1,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1200 

1355 

Preston,  . 

W.  Brown  Farm,  .  .  .  . 

do. 

1185 

1356 

Maggie,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

G.  Barnliart  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1170 

1357 

Denny,  . 

G.  R.  Campbell  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1164 

1358 

Gordon, . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1161 

1359 

Collins’  Bros.,  .... 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1142 

1360 

Roberts,  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1147 

1361 

Woods  &  Ripley,  No.  1, 

D.  Barnhart  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1137 

1362 

Woods& Ripley,  No.  2, 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1137 

1363 

Big  Medicine,  .... 

J.  C.  Brown  (heirs)  Farm, 

do. 

1179 

1364 

Olive, . 

Jamieson  Farm, . 

do. 

1123 

1365 

Sadie, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1122 

1366 

Mary  Ann,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1117 

1367 

Constable,  No.  1,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1122 

1368 

Roberts, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1142 

1369 

Morrison,  No.  1,  .  . 

Morrison  Farm, . 

do. 

1110 

1370 

Morrison,  No.  -,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1113 

1371 

Karns, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1111 

1372 

Red  Cross, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1105 

1373 

Invincible, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1110 

1374 

Preston,  No.  1,  ... 

? . 

do. 

1102 

1375 

Huselton, . 

Huselton  Farm, . 

do. 

1134 

Wells  east  of  Petrolia. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 
ab.  ocean. 

1376 

School  House,  No.  1,  . 

W.  W.  McDermott  Farm, 

Fairview, 

1217 

1377 

McGarvey,  No.  1,  .  . 

McGarvey  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1273 

1378 

McGarvey,  No.  — ,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1225 

1379 

Forman,  No.  3,?  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1354 

1380 

Boyle,  No.  1, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1354 

1381 

Boyle,  No.  2, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1294 

1382 

Boyle,  No.  3, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1330 

1383 

Boyle,  No.  4, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1350 

1384 

Morehead  &  Lardin, 

No.  2,  . 

Mortimer  Farm, . 

do. 

1420 

1385 

Kerns,  No.  6,  .  .  .  .  . 

Snow  Farm, . 

do. 

1464 

1386 

H.  L.  T.  &  Co.,  No.  — 

Carner  Farm, . 

do. 

1347 

1387 

H.  L.  T.  &  Co.,  No.  3, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1404 

1388 

Well,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1366 

1389 

Lone  Star,  No.  1,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1362 

1390 

Jennings,  No.  5,  .  .  . 

Steele  Farm, . 

do. 

1466 

1391 

Jennings,  No.  4,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1462 

1392 

Boss, . 

J.  Parker  Farm . 

Perry,  Arm- 

1279 

1393 

Cummings,  No.  1,  .  . 

Adam  Peters’  Farm,  .  .  . 

strong  Co., 

1230 

OIL  WELL  ELEVATIONS. 


Y.  163 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1394 

Hunter  &  Cummings, 
No.  9, . 

Crawford  Farm, . 

Perry, 

1384 

1395 

Hunter  &  Cummings, 
No.  10, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1320 

1396 

Hunter  &  Cummings, 

No.  11, . 

B.  B.  I.  Co.,  No.  4,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1392 

1397 

B.  Bend  Tract, . 

Brady’s  B., 

850 

1398 

B.  B.  I.  Co,,  No.  5,  .  . 

do.  do . 

Armst’g  co., 

852 

1399 

B.  B.  I.  Co.,  No.  12,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

972 

Wells  near  Karns  City  and  Miller stown. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1400 

Emerson  &  McCloud, 
No.  1, . 

L.  Riddle  Farm, . 

Fair  view 

1249 

1401 

Emerson  &  McCloud, 
No.  2, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1244 

1402 

Grace, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1236 

1403 

Riddle,  No.  16,  ...  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1238 

1404 

Say,  No.  1, . 

Kincaid  Farm,  ..... 

do. 

1240 

1405 

Say,  No.  5, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1244 

1406 

Say,  No.  7,  . 

do.  dc . 

do. 

1299 

1407 

Kincaid, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1281 

1408 

Thompson, . 

A.  Ford  Farm, . 

do. 

1338 

1409 

Prentice,  No.  — ,  .  .  . 

do.  do,  ..... 

do. 

1371 

1410 

Prentice,  No.  — ,  .  .  . 
Saulsbury, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1371 

1411 

J.  B.  Campbell  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1292 

1412 

Bott  Bros.,  No.  — ,  .  . 

J.  P.  Campbell  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1374 

1413 

Angel,  No.  6,  .  .  . 

J.  Moore  Farm, . 

do. 

1297 

1414 

Angel,  No.  9,  ... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1399 

1415 

Lady  Moore, . 

McVey  &  Co.,  No.  1,  . 

W.  Moore  Farm, . 

do. 

1276 

1416 

do.  do . j 

do. 

1364 

1417 

Keystone, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1393 

1418 

Hogan, . 

B.  B.  Seibert  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1318 

1419 

Seibert, . 

Seibert  Farm, . 

do. 

1385 

1420 

Uncle  Hiram,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1387 

1421 

Slieakley,  No,  2,  .  .  . 

Sheakley  ?  Farm,  .... 

Donegal, 

1388 

1422 

Sheakley,  No.  — ,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1186 

1423 

Wyatt,  No.  — ,  .  .  .  . 

D.  Barnhart  Farm,  .... 

Fairview, 

1319 

1424 

Gordon  Bros.,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1270 

1425 

Wyatt,  No.  — ,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1276 

1426 

Marcus  Brownson.  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1303 

1427 

Bennett,  ...... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1277 

1428 

Old  Boyer, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1259 

1429 

D.  Barnhardt,  No.  2,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1201 

1430 

Scudder, . 

Kepple  Farm, . 

Daubenspeck  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1332 

1431 

McGill, . 

do. 

1310 

1432 

McMichael, . 

P.  McDermott  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1342 

1433 

Cherry  Tree, . 

Hemphill  Farm, . 

Donegal, 

1322 

1434 

J.  Barnhart,  .... 

Barnhart  ?  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1169 

1435 

F.  Barnhart, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1194 

1436 

Preston, . 

J.  Hemphill  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1168 

164  V, 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


« 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1437 

Little  Joe, . 

J.  Hemphill  Farm,  .  .  . 

Donegal, 

1164 

1438 

Shreve,  No.  ?,.... 

A.  Stewart  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1195 

1439 

Shreve,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1210 

1440 

Blue  Factory,  .... 

Sheakley  (heirs)  Farm,  . 

do. 

1172 

1441 

McKinney,  No.  2,  .  . 

Hemphill  (heirs)  Farm?, 

do. 

1163 

1442 

McKinney,  No.  4,  .  . 

do.  do. 

do. 

1179 

1443 

McKinney,  No.  — ,  .  . 

do.  do. 

do. 

1191 

1444 

Stoughton, . 

Widow  Hemphill  Farm,  . 

do. 

1176 

1445 

Captain  Jack,  .... 

do.  do. 

do. 

1189 

1446 

Shite  Poke,  No.  1,  .  . 

Frederick  Farm, . 

do. 

1172 

1447 

Warner, . 

Warner  Farm, . 

do. 

1202 

1448 

McClintock, . 

Millerstown, . 

do. 

1156 

1449 

McCullough,  .... 

do.  . 

do. 

1156 

1450 

Brown  &  Kiss,  .... 

do.  . 

do. 

1164 

1451 

Brown  &  Co.,  .... 

do.  . 

do. 

1160 

1452 

Thompson  &  Mechlin , 

Fetzer  &  Myers  Tract,  .  . 

do. 

1162 

1453 

Mechlin,  No.  1.  .  .  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1170 

1454 

McKinney  Bros.,  .  . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1171 

1455 

Ida, . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1203 

1456 

Tom  Collins, . 

do.  do.  . 

do. 

1216 

1457 

Galey, . 

do.  do.  .  . 

do. 

1229 

Wells  between  Miller stown  and  St.  Joe. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 
ab.  ocean. 

1458 

McKinney,  No.  — ,  . 

Hemphill  (heirs) 

Farm,  . 

Donegal, 

1225 

1459 

McKinney,  No.  12,  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1277 

1460 

McKinney,  No.  13,  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1304 

1461 

McKinney,  No.  17,  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1366 

1462 

McKinney,  No.  19,  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1387 

1463 

Angel  Gas  Well,  .  . 

Dugan  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1295 

1464 

Diviner,  No.  1,  .  .  . 

Diviner  Farm,  .  . 

do. 

1262 

1465 

Diviner,  No.  2,  .  .  . 

do. 

do.  .  . 

do. 

1279 

1466 

Diviner,  No.  3,  ?  .  . 

do. 

do.  .  . 

do. 

1379 

1467 

Diviner,  No.  3,  ?  .  . 

do. 

do.  .  . 

do. 

1302 

1468 

Diviner,  No.  4,  .  .  . 

do. 

do.  .  . 

do. 

1332 

1469 

Diviner,  No.  5,  .  .  . 

do. 

do.  .  . 

do. 

1375 

1470 

Diviner,  No.  6,  .  .  . 

do. 

do.  .  . 

do. 

1385 

1471 

Diviner,  No.  7,  .  .  . 

do. 

do.  .  . 

do. 

1374 

1472 

Grace,  S.  &  T.,  .  .  . 

Fetzer  &  Myers  Tract,  .  . 

do. 

1381 

1473 

Grace,  F.  &  M.,  .  . 

do. 

do.  do.  .  . 

*  do. 

1402 

1474 

Weiser, . 

McGiniey  Farm,  . 

do. 

1350 

1475 

Caldwell  &  Emery, 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1357 

1476 

Shamburg  &  O’  Hara, 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1397 

1477 

Prentice,  No.  1,  .  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1411 

L478 

Prentice,  No.  2,  .  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1374 

1479 

Prentice,  No.  3,  .  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1404 

1480 

Adams  &  Friday,  . 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1379 

1481 

McGiniey,  No.  3,  .  . 

• 

do. 

do. 

do. 

1393 

1482 

Black  Maria,  .... 

do. 

do.  r  ., 

•  •  •  • 

do. 

1353 

OIL  WELL  ELEVATIONS 


y.  165 


Name. 

Locality. 

Towmship. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1483 

Busted  Ring,  .... 

McGinley  Farm,  .  ...  .  .  . 

Donegal, 

1330 

1484 

Hart  &  Conkle,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1348 

1485 

Relief,  No.  1,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1409 

I486 

Relief,  No.  2,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1368 

1487 

Hunter,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1294 

1488 

Hunter,  No.  2,  ...  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1295 

1489 

Scudder, . 

? . 

do. 

1264 

1490 

Smith, . 

Overy,  No.  12,  ...  . 

Dugan  (?)  Farm,  .... 
E.  Duffy  Farm,  ..... 

do. 

1382 

1491 

do. 

1369 

1492 

O’Reilly,  . 

do  do . 

do. 

1339 

1493 

M’Allister,  No.  1,  .  . 

McAllister  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1318 

1494 

McAllister,  No.  3,  .  . 
McAllister,  No.  5,  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1389 

1495 

do.  do.  .  .  . 

do. 

1353 

1496 

Overy,  No.  2,  .... 

McLaughlin  Farm,  .  .  . 

do. 

1861 

1497 

Overy,  No.  6,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1385 

1498 

Overy,  No.  — ,  ...  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1355 

1499 

Overy,  No.  — ,  .  .  .  . 

Murphy  Farm, . 

Gillespie  Farm,  ..... 

do. 

1292 

1500 

Gillespie, . 

do. 

1329 

1501 

Burchfield,  No. — ,  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1321 

1502 

Prentice, . 

C.  Duffy  Farm, . 

do. 

1289 

1503 

Lechner,  . 

Lechner  Farm, . 

do. 

1359 

1504 

Tanner, . 

McGuire  Farm, . 

do. 

1316 

1505 

Showalter, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1363 

1506 

Oakland,  No.  4,  .  .  . 
Bronson  &  Harrington, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1361 

1507 

Boyd  Farm, . 

do. 

1367 

1508 

Bronson  &  Harrington , 
No.—, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1389 

1509 

Bronson  &  Harrington, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1400 

1510 

Riddle  or  Overy, No.  5, 

P.  Murphy  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1371 

1511 

Mead,  No.  2, . 

J.  Now  Farm, . 

do. 

1385 

1512 

Mead,  No.  3, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1390 

1513 

Mead,  No.  1, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1294 

1514 

Bulger, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1368 

1515 

Shidemantle,  .... 

P.  McGuire  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1399 

1516 

Maid,  No.  — ,  .... 

do.  do . 

do. 

1316 

1517 

Maid,  No.  — ,  .  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1366 

1518 

Emerson, . 

J.  Neff  Farm, . 

do. 

1388 

1519 

Bulger, . 

J.  Graham  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1346 

1520 

Armor, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1400 

1521 

Burchfield, . 

Graham  (?)  Farm,  .... 

do. 

1379 

1522 

Well,  No.  3,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1346 

Wells  at  Jeffersonville  and  Herman  Station. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 
ab.  ocean. 

1530 

Humes,  No.  1,  .  .  .  . 

Humes  Farm, . 

Clearfield, 

1124 

1531 

Humes,  No.  2,  ...  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1161 

1532 

Summit,  (No.  1,)  .  . 

Eichenlaub  Farm,  .... 

Summit, 

1326 

1533 

Herman  Oil  Co.,  No.  2, 

do.  do . 

do. 

1281 

1534 

Hunter, . 

Schnure  Farm, . 

do. 

1191 

1535 

Kirk  &  Dilworth,  .  . 

Bingham  Farm, . 

J  efferson, 

1263 

166  Y. 


EEPOET  OF  PEOGEESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Wells  near  St.  Joe  and  Carlton  Centre. 


Name. 

Locality. 

Township. 

Elevation 

ab.  ocean. 

1523 

Bonanza, . 

O’Donnell  Farm, . 

Donegal, 

1398 

1524 

Fletcher,  No.  3,  .  .  . 

P.  Duffy  Farm, . 

do. 

1212 

1525 

Weiser, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1216 

1526 

Burns  Gas  Well,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1298 

1527 

Prentice,  No.  3,  .  .  . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1309 

1528 

Shirley, . 

do.  do . 

do. 

1222 

1529 

K.Thompson  Gas  W  ell, 

Eobt.  Thompson  Farm,  . 

Clearfield, 

1162 

§  87.  Oil  Well  Records. 

The  following  well  records  have  been  taken  from  Report 
1. 1,  and  are  here  reproduced  to  illustrate  the  general  strati¬ 
graphy  of  the  Butler  County  Oil  District. 

Where  coal  beds  are  reported  in  these  records  I  have  in¬ 
serted  their  names,  but  otherwise  the  records  remain  un¬ 
changed  in  the  “Drillers’  Nomenclature.”  A  “shell” 
is  any  hard  stratum  encountered  by  the  drill,  and  is 
generally  a  thin  band  of  muddy  or  silicious  sandstone, 
often  pebbly :  “SS.”  is  an  abbreviation  for  sand  or  sand¬ 
stone,  and  “soapstone”  is  the  driller’s  name  for  shale,  or 
soft  slaty  shale.  The  term  “Red  Rock’-2  explains  itself. 

These  records  are  all  very  reliable  ones,  and  correctly  rep¬ 
resent  the  thicknesses  and  character  of  the  various  rocks 
passed  through. 

The  six  detailed  records  numbered  from  (1199)  to  (1204) 
were  carefully  kept  by  Mr.  John  H.  Carll,  who  preserved 
sand-pumpings  from  each  stratum,  and  accurately  meas¬ 
ured  their  depth  with  a  steel  wire.  They  are  fully  described 
in  Report  1. 1. 1. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  wells  are  numbered  on  the 
left  side  by  the  original  running  numbers  of  report  1. 1. 

(1130)  Columbia  Oil  Co.  Well  No.  Jh 

January  10,  1876. 

On  Reddick  Farm,  Columbia  Hill,  two  miles  N.  W.  of 


OIL  WELL  RECORDS. 


Y.  167 


Parker,  in  Allegheny  Township,  Butler  County.  Author¬ 
ity,  Columbia  Oil  Company. 


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Well  mouth  above  ocean  in  feet, . 

Conductor,  clay, . . 

Slate,  black, . 

Limestone,  black,  .  Ferriferous  Limestone, 

Soapstone, . . 

SS.,  60'  rock, . 

Slate,  hard  shells,  gray,  . 

SS.,  fine  grained,  hard  and  gray, . 

Slate,  black,  . 

Slate,  shelly, . 

Mountain  SS., . 

Slate,  with  gray  shells, . 

SS.,  gray,  hard,  . 

Slate, . 

Slate,  white, . 

1st  SS.,  with  some  gas, . 

Red  rock, . 

2d  SS.,  oil  show, . 

Slate, . 

SS., . 

Soapstone, . 

SS., . 

Soapstone, . 

SS., . 


.  18  to 

18  = 

.  70  to 

88  = 

.  10  to 

98  = 

.  57  to 

155  = 

f  60  to 

215  = 

60  to 

275  = 

10  to 

285  = 

^  20  to 

305  = 

45  to 

350  = 

1100  to 

450  = 

.  300  to 

750  = 

770  = 

890  = 

.  55  to 

945  = 

.  60  to 

1005  = 

35  to  1040  = 
40  to  1080  = 
2  to  1082  = 
35  to  1117  = 
23  to  1140  = 
28  to  1168  = 
30  to  1198  = 
8  to  1206  = 


Soapstone, .  2  to  1208  = 

SS.,  . 12  to  1220  = 

Soapstone, . . . 30  to  1250  = 

3d  SS.,  .  *. . 27  to  1277  = 

Slate, . pocket,  3  to  1280  = 


Drilled  dry.  Cased  at  291'.  Gas  sufficient  to  fire  5  boil¬ 
ers.  Best  oil  indications  at  1259'.  Best  production,  15  bar¬ 
rels  per  day.  Average  to  August,  1876,  3J  barrels  per  day. 
Green  oil. 


(1139)  Gibson  &  Ecock  Well. 

On  Fronsinger  farm,  Parker  township,  Butler  county. 
Authority,  Edward  Casey. 


Well  mouth  above  ocean  in  feet,  .  .  . 

Clay, . 

Surface  SS, . 

Slate,  . 

SS.,  white, . 

COAL, . Freeport  Lower,  . 

SS.,  dark,  15' ;  white,  35  .  dark,  5',  .  .  . 
COAL, . Kittanning  Upper, 


1382 

14  to 

14  = 

1368 

15  to 

29  = 

1353 

51  to 

80  = 

1302 

7  to 

87  = 

1295 

3  to 

90  = 

1292 

55  to 

145  = 

1237 

5  to 

150  = 

1232 

168  y 


REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Limestone,  .  .  Ferriferous  Limestone, 


Bluff SS.,  -‘B,” 


SS. 


ss„ 


Slate, 


.  3  to  153  — 

1229 

.  132  to  285  — 

1097 

.  15  to  300  = 

1032 

.  3  to  303  — 

1079 

.  GOto  353  — 

1019 

.  37  to  400  — 

982 

.  45  to  445  — 

937 

.  19  to  464  — 

918 

.  10  to  474  — 

908 

.  18  to  492  — 

890 

.  6  to  498  — 

884 

, )  144  to  642  — 

740 

.  30  to  672  — 

710 

.  20  to  692  — 

690 

.  15  to  707  — 

675 

.  12  to  719  — 

663 

.  30  to  749  — 

633 

.  25  to  774  — 

608 

.  20  to  794  — 

588 

.  31  to  825  — 

557 

.  12  to  837  — 

545 

.  85  to  922== 

460 

.  2  to  924  — 

458 

.  135  to  1059  — 

323 

.  3  to  1062  — 

320 

.  90  to  1152  — 

230 

.  2  to  1154  — 

228 

.  6  to  1160  — 

222 

.  10  to  1170  — 

212 

.  2  to  1172  — 

210 

.  15  to  1187  — 

195 

.  2  to  1189  — 

193 

.  8  to  1197  — 

185 

.  4  to  1201  — 

181 

.  9  to  1210  — 

172 

.  10  to  1220  — 

162 

.  15  to  1235  — 

147 

.  25  to  1260  — 

122 

.  30  to  1290  — 

92 

.  5  to  1295  = 

87 

.  5  to  1300  — 

82 

.  12  to  1312  — 

70 

.  4  to  1316  — 

66 

.  7  to  1323  — 

59 

.  12  to  1335  — 

47 

.  10  to  1345  — 

+  37 

.  4  to  1349  — 

+  33 

.  2  to  1351  — 

+  31 

.  10  to  1361  — 

+  21 

.  12  to  1373  — 

+  9 

.  4  to  1377  — 

+  5 

.  6  to  1383  — 

—  1 

OIL  WELL  RECORDS. 


Y.  169 


Slate, . 

SS., . 

Slate,  . 

SS., . 

Slate, . 

SS.,  oil  sandrock, 


3  to  1386  =  —  4 

4  to  1390  =  —  8 
3  to  1393  ==—  11 
6  to  1399  =  —  17 
3  to  1402  =  —  20 

16  to  1418  =  —  36 


(1170.)  Mattison  and  McDonald  Well. 

December  4,  1875. 

OnMcClyman’s  farm,  Fairview  township,  Butler  county. 

Authority,  John  Davitt. 

«/  ' 


Well  mouth  above  ocean  in  feet . 

Conductor  (?)  10',  shale  4',  coal!', . 

Slate,  . 

Coal,  ....  Kittaimiug  Upper, .... 

Slate,  . 

Bluff  SS.  (Sandstone,) . 

Slate, . 

Limestone,  .  .  .  Ferriferous  Uimestoue, 

Slate, . .  . 

SS.  forty  foot  rock,  . 

Slate, . 

Mountain  SS., . 

Slate, . 

1st  SS., . 

Slate, . . 

SS., . 

Slate,  . 

2d  SS., . 

Bed  Bock,  . 

Slate,  . 

SS.,  Blue  Monday, . 

Bed  Bock, . 

Slate,  . 

SS.,  boulder, . 

Slate,  . 

Stray  3d  SS., . 

Slate,  . 

3d  SS., . 

Slate,  . 

Stray  4th  SS., . 

Slate,  . 

4th  SS.,  20'  in  sand, . 


. +1244 

18  to  18  =  +1226 
23  to  41  =  +1203 

4  to  45  =  +1199 
25  to  70  =  +1174 
75  to  145  =  +1099 
20  to  165  =  +1079 
20  to  185  =  +1059 

143  to  328  =  +  916 
40  to  368  =  +  876 
110  to  478  =  +  766 
150  to  628  =  +  616 
122  to  750  =  +  494 
20  to  770  =  +  474 
200  to  970  =  +  274 
10  to  980  =  +  264 
185  to  1165  =  +  79 
20  to  1185=+  59 

5  to  1190  =  +  54 
80  to  1270.=  —  26 
10  to  1280  =  -  36 
20  to  1300  =—  56 
20  to  1320  =  —  76 
10  to  1330  =  —  86 
20  to  1350  =  —  106 
25  to  1375  =  —  131 
15  to  1390  =  —  146 
12  to  1402  =  —  158 
58  to  1460  =  —  216 

8  to  1468  =  —  224 

2  to  1470  =  —  226 
20  to  1490  =  —  246 


Cased  at  470'.  Gas  sufficient  to  fire  one  boiler. 

Best  production,  75  barrels  per  day.  Amber  green  oil. 


170  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


{1173.)  Mead  Well. 

On  Now  farm,  near  St.  Joe,  Donegal  township,  Butler 

county.  Authority,  Mr.  Wyatt;  from  memory. 

Well  mouth  above  ocean  in  feet, . -{-1294 

?  . . 40  to  40  =  -fl254 

Coal, . Millerstown  Bed,  ...  5  to  45  =  +1249 

? .  300  to  345  =  4-  949 

Limestone,  .  .  .  Ferriferous  Limestone,  ...  20  to  365  =  +  929 

? . 35  to  400  =  +  894 

SS.,  60'  rock, . 60  to  460  =  +  834 

? . 35  to  495  =  -f  799 

SS.,  40'  rock, . 40  to  535  =  +  759 

Slate . 20  to  555  =  +  739 

Mountain  SS.  Cased  at  537', . 175  to  730  =  +  564 

Slate, . . .  405  to  1135  =  +  159 

1st  SS., . 25  to  1160  =  +  134 

Slate, . 110  to  1270  =  4-  24 

2d  SS.  (Second  Sandstone,) . 25  to  1295  =  —  1 

Red  rock, .  5  to  1300  =  —  6 

SS.,  50'  rock, . 40  to  1340  =  —  46 

Slate, . 20  to  1360  =  —  66 

SS.,  30'  rock, . 25  to  1385  =—  91 

Slate, . 40  to  1425  =  —  131 

SS.,  boulder, . 20  to  1445  =  —  151 

Slate, . 10  to  1455  =  —  161 

SS.,  Blue  Monday, .  5  to  1460  =  —  166 

Slate, . 40  to  1500  =  —  206 

Stray  3d  SS., . 30  to  1530  =  —  236 

Slate, . 25  to  1555  =  —  261 

3d  SS.,  10'  in  sand, . .  .  10  to  1565  =  —  271 

Jr 

(1175.)  Thompson  Gas  Well. 

Robert  Thompson  farm,  Clearfield  township,  Butler 
county,  2  miles  south  oh  St.  Joe,  and  adjoining  the  Easter¬ 
ling  farm.  Drilled  in  1875.  Authority,  S.  McGara. 

Well  mouth  above  ocean  in  feet, .  -{-1162 

Conductor, . 15  to  15  =+1147 

Slate, .  8  to  23  =  +1139 

SS.,  surface  sandstone,  coal  show  30', . 100  to  123  =  +1039 

Slate,  good  drilling, . 92  to  215  =  +  947 

Limestone,  soft  and  poor — Ferrif.  Limestone,  15  to  230  =+  932 

Slate,  good  drilling, . 60  to  290  =  +  872 

SS.  (Sandstone),  white,  “open,” . 40  to  330  =+  832 

Slate, . 60  to  390  =  +  772 

SS.,  “60' SS.,” . 90  to  480  =+  682 

Slate, . 50  to  530  =+  632 

Mt.  SS.,  little  salt  water  top  and  bottom, . 210  to  740  =  +  422 


OIL  WELL  RECORDS. 


Y.  171 


Slate, . 100  to  840  =  -f  322 

SS. ,  little  salt  water  and  gas, . 22  to  862  =  300 

Slate,  shelly, . 150  to  1012  =  -j-  150 

SS.,  very  hard, . 22  to  1034  —  -f-  128 

Slate,  shelly, . 143  to  1177  =  —  15 

SS.,  \fery  dark,  little  salt  water, . 15  to  1192  =  —  30 

Red  rock,  very  hard, .  7  to  1199  = —  37 

Slate,  . 8  to  1207  =—  45 

SS.,  •* 50'  rock,”  top,  hard;  bottom,  soft, . 50  to  1257  = —  95 

Slate, . 20  to  1277  =  —  115 

SS.,  “30'  rock,”  red  at  bottom, . 20  to  1297  =—  135 

Slate,  . 60  to  1357  =  —  195 

SS.,  white, .  5  to  1362  -  200 

Red  rock,  hard, . 15  to  1377  =  —  215 

SS.,  boulder, . 10  to  1387  =  —  225 

Slate,  . 38  to  1425  =  —  263 

SS.,  “Corn-meal”  or  stray,  good,  . 21  to  1446  = —  284 

Slate,  . 10  to  1456  -  294 

3d  SS.,  (measured,) . 30  to  1486  -  324 

?  .  .  . . 52  to  1538  =  —  376 

4th  SS.,  gas,  no  oil, . 20?  to  1558?  =  —  396 


Drilled  dry.  Cased  at  461'.  Tlie  Bd  SS.  was  full  of  small 
pebbles  near  its  top,  but  became  fine,  white  and  sharp 
toward  the  bottom.  Oil  was  struck  near  the  top  of  this 
sand.  The  well  was  tubed  and  pumped  for  four  months, 
producing  eight  barrels  per  day  of  good  lively  oil.  The 
tubing  was  then  drawn  and  the  drill  run  down  to  the  4th 
SS.,  which  was  found  at  1,588'.  A  powerful  vein  of  gas 
was  encountered  here,  the  rig  caught  fire  and  burned  down, 
and  as  there  is  no  oil  with  the  gas  the  well  is  now  only 
used  as  a  gas  well,  supplying  fuel  to  15  or  20  boilers  in  the 
neighborhood. 


{1199)  Sutton  Well  No. 

January  5,  1877. 


H.  M.  CHANCE 


172  Y.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS. 


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December  7,  1876. 

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180  V.  REPORT  OF  PKOGBESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


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SECOND  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA: 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS,  Y 

1875. 

By  H.  MARTYN  CHANCE. 


PART  II. 

BEAVER  AND  SHENANGO  VALLEYS, 

IN 

BEAVER,  LAWRENCE  AND  MERCER 
COUNTIES. 


Chapter  I. 

The  Mercer  Group  traced  continuously  along  the  hill¬ 
sides  from  Wirtemburg  to  Sharon. 

This  survey  was  made  to  determine  the  horizon  of  the 
Sharon  Coal  bed  with  reference  to  the  Lower  Productive 
Coal  measures,  and  with  respect  to  No.  XII, — the  Coal 
Measure  Conglomerate.  The  report  upon  it  Avas  written 
in  the  winter  of  1875,  but  unavoidable  delays  have  hind¬ 
ered  its  publication,  until  now  its  results  have  been  an¬ 
ticipated  in  Mr.  White’ s  detailed  county  reports  on  Beaver, 
Lawrence,  and  Mercer  counties.  His  conclusions  tally  re¬ 
markably  with  those  that  I  arrived  at  in  1875,  but  since 
that  time  my  views  regarding  the  basal  limits  of  No.  XII 
have  been  greatly  modified  by  knowledge  of  these  rocks 
that  I  have  obtained  in  the  oil  regions. 

(185) 


186  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


A  map  (Plate  YI)  showing  the  position  of  all  the  sections 
here  given,  has  been  constructed  partly  from  the  alignment 
notes  of  the  New  Castle  and  Homewood,  and  Erie  and  Pitts¬ 
burgh  Railroads,  and  partly  from  original  surveys.  These 
surveys  were  made  with  a  large  six  inch  needle  mining 
compass,  with  a  ten  inch  telescope  with  arm  for  reading 
vertical  angles  and  stadia  wires  attached. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  and  Darlington  (Kittanning 
Middle)  Coal  bed  are  shown  on  the  map  by  their  outcrop 
lines;  and  the  positions  of  the  Mercer  Group  and  Sharon  Coal 
bed  are  added  at  points  where  they  could  be  definitely 
located.  The  longitudinal  profile  cross-section  illustrates 
their  geological  and  hypsometrical  relations,  and  shows 
very  prominently  the  great  band  of  sandy  measures  now 
recognized  as  forming  No.  XII — “The  Beaver  River”  or 
“  Conglomerate  Series.” 

The  tidewater  elevations  are  based  on  railroad  levels  and 
are  very  approximately  correct. 


Systematized  Section  of  the  Lower  Productive  Coal 

Measures. 

I  |  |  ' 

a  x  ® 

•S  03 

3  ^  < 

Coal — Freeport  Upper  (?) 
or  Lower  (?)  ......  6' 

Fireclay, . 3' 

Shales, . 58' 

Coal,  (Eiclienhaur  ?)  Free¬ 
port  Lower,  ?  .  .  .  .  .  V 
Slialy  sandstone  Freeport 

Lower, . 50' 

Kittanning  Upper  coal,  not  noted. 

Slate, . 23' 

2'  0"  to  3'  0"  Kittanning  Middle  coal,  .  3' 

4'  0"  to  8'  0"  Fireclay,  . 5' 

20'  to  40'  Slate  and  shale,  .  ...  35' 

O'  to  1'  6"  Kittanning  Lower  coal, 

(cannel,) . 1' 


BEAVER  VALLEY. 


V.  187 


10' 

O' 

15' 

20' 

0' 

1' 

5' 

0' 


to  10' 
to  30' 

to  4' 
to  22' 
to  25' 


Fireclay, . 5' 

Shale  and  slate,  sometimes 

sandy, . 30' 

Ova  9' 

\/i  Vj  •  •••••••••  nJ 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  15' 
Slate,  with  Scrubgrass  coal,  20' 


V.I26 


8"  to  1'  6"  Clarion  coal, . V 


0' 

20' 


0' 

0' 

0' 

10' 


to  45' 
to  2' 
to  3' 
to  15' 
to  60' 


Shale  and  slate,  ....  35' 
Brookville  coal  .....  1' 

Fireclay, . 2' 

Slate, . 10' 

Homewood  Sandstone,  top 
of  Ho.  XII, . 30' 


5' 

to  15' 

Slate, . i 

"  11' 

o'- 

to  3' 

MercerUpperLime- 

• 

V 

stone,  ...... 

T— * 

2' 

0' 

to  2' 

Mercer  Upper  coal, 

ft 

1' 

5' 

to  20' 

Ferriferous  shales, 

P 

l8  j 

o 

15' 

0' 

to  2' 

MercerLowerLime- 

stone, . 

<D 

1' 

0' 

to  10' 

Shale, . 

55 

5' 

0' 

to  2' 

Mercer  Lower  coal. 

a 

1' 

0' 

to  10' 

Shale,  . 

•  \ 

l  5' 

10' 

to  60' 

Connoquenessing  Upper 

Sandstone,  .  .  . 

.  35' 

* 


M 


to  50' 
to  60' 


Shale,  with  iron  ore  and 
‘ £  Strawbridge  coal,”  .  25' 
Connoquenessing  Lower 
Sandstone,  (sometimes 
double,  with  a  small 
coal  near  middle, )  .  .55' 

Slate  and  shale,  ....  25' 
to  4'  6"  Sharon  Coal  bed,  ....  3' 
to  25'  Hark  shale  and  slate,  .  .11' 
to  40'  ‘  Sands  tone — upper  part  of 

Ohio  Conglomerate,  .  25' 
Shales  and  flaggy  sandstones  at 
Sharon. 


to  40' 


m 


3 


rz 


See  Chapter  II  for  discussion  of  this  thickness. 


188  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


South  of  New  Castle  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  was  used 
as  a  key  rock,  but  after  passing  into  the  country  north  of 
the  Nesliannock  the  Mercer  Group  of  limestones,  coals, 
fireclays  and  iron  ores  was  taken  as  a  datum  plane  and 
everything  (both  above  and  below)  referred  to  it. 

In  the  following  sections  I  have  adopted  the  nomenclature 
used  in  the  Butler  county  report,  using  the  names  Kit- 
tanning  Upper,  Middle,  and  Lower  Coal  beds. 

The  generalized  description  illustrated  by  Fig.  126,  em¬ 
braces  all  the  data  of  the  detailed  sections,  showing  the 
maximum  and  minimum  thickness  of  each  interval,  and 
the  distance  of  one  stratum  from  another  by  addition  of 
the  figures  in  the  right  hand  column. 

The  general  parallelism  of  the  measures  is  unchanged  by 
the  thinning  or  thickening  of  an  individual  stratum,  as 
such  variations  are  nearly  always  compensated  by  an  op¬ 
posite  change  in  the  overlying  or  underlying  interval. 

The  upper  rocks  of  this  section  were  measured  in  but 
two  localities,  viz :  Wirtemburg  and  Wampum,  and  at 
these  places  the  exposures  were  poor. 

The  Kit  tanning  coals  and  Ferriferous  limestone  were 
traced  up  the  Beaver  as  far  as  New  Castle,  but  were  not 
measured  in  the  summits  north  of  New  Castle,  but  the 
Mercer  Group  was  traced  all  the  way  to  the  Sharon  coal 


field. 


The  Sharon  Coal  bed  underlies  the  Upper  Mercer  Lime¬ 
stone  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  sev¬ 
enty-five  feet,  and  between  them  the  two  Connoquenessing 
Sandstones*  are  found,  which  sometimes  unite  to  form  one 

*Tlie  Homewood  Sandstone  and  Connoquenessing  Sandstone  in  my  origi¬ 
nal  manuscript  were  called  the  Upper  and  Lower  Beaver  Conglomerates,  but 
1  have  altered  these  names  to  conform  to  Mr.  White’s  nomenclature.  As  it 
is  often  difficult  to  recognize  the  upper  and  lower  divisions  of  the  Conno¬ 
quenessing  sandrock,  it  would  bo  much  better  to  call  them  the  Connoque¬ 
nessing  Group  of  Sandstones.  We  would  then  have  : 


Coal 

Measure 

Conglomerate 


J  Connoquenessing  Group — Sandstones 


Homewood  Sandstone. 
Mercer  Group 


— Coals. 


No.  XII  = 
Beaver  River 
Series. 


Sharon  Group 
Ohio  Conglomerate. 


Coal  and  Shale. 


BEAVER  VALLEY. 


y.  189 


very  thick  rock,  but  at  times  consist  of  four  or  five  mem¬ 
bers. 

Both  of  the  Mercer  Limestones  were  seldom  seen  in  one 
locality  one  or  the  other  generally  being  absent,  and  it  is 
often  difficult  to  tell  to  which  of  the  two  the  one  noted 
should  be  referred,  but  the  group  of  slates,  shales,  fire¬ 
clays  and  coals  in  which  they  occur  can  never  be  wrongly 
identified.  This  group  occurs  beneath  the  Homewood 
Sandstone,  and  from  80  to  130  feet  beneath  the  Ferriferous 
Limestone,  the  Upper  Mercer  Limestone  usually  occurring 
at  from  90  to  115  feet  beneath  that  stratum. 

As  described  by  Prof.  Lesquereux  (Report  J,  1874)  the 
Mercer  Group  at  Wirtemburg  consists  of  the  succession 


represented  on  an  enlarged  scale  in  Fig. 
127. 

Wirtemburg  Section. 


V.127 


Shale. 

Limestone,  hard  and  black, 

. 3' 

Fireclay,  .  . . ' .  . 

. 2' 

Sandstone,  . 

. 5' 

Soft  greyish  shales,  .  .  .  . 

. 15; 

Limestone  (fucoidal)  .  .  .  . 

. U 

Coal, . 

.  .  .  5"  to  U 

Shale,  black  soft,  with  iron 

ore  to 

water  level, . 

.  .  .  5' to  8' 

In  this  vicinity  the  Homewood  Sandstone  lias  thinned 
down  to  a  knife  edge,  and  finally  disappears,  only  however 
to  reappear  again  farther  up  the  stream.  The  Connoque- 
nessing  Sandstone  is  beneath  stream  level  near  Wirtem¬ 


burg,  but  at  Rock  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connoque- 
nessing,  it  forms  rugged  perpendicular  bluffs  one  hundred 
feet  high. 

Going  south  and  w^est  from  Wirtemburg  no  good  devel¬ 
opment  of  the  Mercer  Group  is  found.  Its  place  is  often 
entirely  occupied  by  the  Homewood  and  Connoquenessing 
Sandstones  which  frequently  are  almost  united. 

At  Homewood  Furnace  the  measures  have  been  pretty 
thoroughly  explored  in  search  after  coal  and  iron  ore,  but 


190  V. 


REPORT  OF  PEOGEESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


most  of  the  openings  and  diggings  are  now  partly  or  alto¬ 
gether  closed,  and  accurate  measurements  of  the  individual 
beds  could  not  be  made.  Fig.  128  illustrates  V.128 
the  following  description,  which  was  compiled 
from  exposures  in  this  neighborhood : 

Homewood  Furnace  Section.  L_  ?  62 

1160'±Coal  .  Freeport  Lower?  ...  6' 

Fireclay, . - 


1095' 


1052' 


1014' 

994' 

960' 


883' 

864' 


834' 


Interval  with  coal  (Kittann¬ 
ing  Upper  reported  1  ft.,  . 
Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .  . 


62'  (?) 
3' 


Fireclay, . - 

Shales  and  Slates, . 42' 

Kittanning  Lower  Coal(cannel)  1'  6" 
Slaty  shales,  brownish,  .  .  .36' 

Ore  variable,  about . 2' 

Ferriferous  Limestone,  about  .  20' 

Slate, . 34' 

Clarion  Coal, . 0'  6" 

Concealed — (distance  i  mile)  64' 


896'  Coal . 1'  to  2' 


Shale  and  slate, . 13' 

Massive  Homewood  Sandstone,  19' 

Coal, . 0'  9 

Iron  ore — (Mercer  limestone)  .  0'  8 

Slate  and  shale, . ■  .  28' 

Connoquenessing  Sandstones, 
thin-bedded,  fine-grained,  .  84' 
Unseen  to  river  level,  .  .  .  .20' 


// 


F.C. 


F.C. _ 


?64 


'  River  level 


The  thickness  of  the  interval  under  the  Clarion  Coal  bed 
is  probably  somewhat  exaggerated  by  the  sharp  dip  per¬ 
vading  the  rocks  near  the  furnace. 

In  going  up  the  Connoquenessing  from  this  point  to  the 
mouth  of  Slippery  Rock  Creek  the  Homewood  Sandstone 
constantly  thickens  until  at  the  latter  place  it  measures 
sixty  feet,  and  this  too,  but  a  short  distance  from  the  place 
of  Prof.  Lesquereux’s  section,  where  it  is  entirely  wanting. 
Measurements  made  here  give  the  section  shown  by  Fig.  129. 


BEAVER  VALLEY. 


Y.  191 


Section  at  Slippery  Rock  Creek. 

894'  Homewood  Sandstone,  hard  and 

massive, . 60' 

884'  Slate,  dark  blue,  . 10' 

Coal  (Mercer), . 4"  to  8" 

Connoquenessing  Sandstone  to  low 

water  in  creek, . 15' 

The  slates  occurring  below  these  two  sandrocks  are  quite 
soft  and  are  very  variable,  changing  from  a  few  inches  to 
as  many  feet  in  thickness  in  a  distance  of  a  few  yards. 


Section  on  Cunningham  Farm . 

Slate. 

1076'  Coal,  . 

Fireclay, . 

Interval, . 

Ore, . 

1080'  Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  .  . 
Interval  containing  Homewood 
Sandstone,  (massive,)  .  .  . 
885'  Sandstone,  massive,  ..... 
834'  Slate ;  blue,  evenly  laminated, 

with  ore  at  base, . 

824'  Sandstone,  gradating  down¬ 
wards  into  sandy  shale,  and 

shale,  . 

To  water  level  at  mouth  of  Con- 


V.I30 


noquenessmg, 


2'  6 

44' 

2' 

10'± 

150' 

51' 

10' 

94' 

0' 


// 


r.c. 


44 


ISO 


On  Mr.  Cunningham’s  farm  between  Wir- 
temburg  and  Homewood  Furnace  a  coal  is 
opened  which  lies  in  the  horizon  of  the 
Lower  Kittanning  bed.  It  is  about  two 
and  a  half  feet  thick,  and  is  mined  during 
the  winter  months  for  local  use.  The  lime¬ 
stone  ore  has  been  dug  from  several  places 
on  this  farm,  and  carried  to  the  furnace,  a  distance  of  about 
two  miles.  It  is  about  two  feet  thick,  but  quite  variable. 

In  descending  from  this  Coal  bank  to  the  Creek,  the  sec¬ 
tion  shown  by  Fig.  130,  was  measured. 

The  intervals  of  this  section  are  somewhat  enlarged  by 


A 

LJA/ 

IZXXZ 

f 

/ 

w  /Glv 

TxnrsczsL 

/  / 

Creek  level 

192  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


V.  131 


123 


Terr.Zime.  ? 


2 '  11 


// 


123' 

1' 

86' 

*128' 


128 


the  north  dip  of  the  Harrisville  (?)  anticli¬ 
nal  axis,  making  the  Conglomerate  group 
about  30  feet  thicker  than  what  would  be 
shown  by  a  true  vertical  section. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  south  from  the  furnace,  the 
section  shown  by  Fig.  131  was  measured. 

Section  below  Homeiooocl  Furnace. 

Slate. 

1068'  Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .  .  . 

Concealed  :  —  Containing  the 
horizon  of  the  Ferriferous 

Limestone, . 

944/  Clarion  coal, . 

Fireclay, . 

Interval, . 

858'  Massive  Hoomewood  Sand¬ 
stone  with  shale, . 

730'  Sandstone,  (Connoquenessing,) 

to  River  level,  . j 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  which  has 
been  opened  and  worked  quite  largely,  is 
here  about  2'  11"  thick,  and  is  27  feet  lower »than  at  Home- 
wood  Furnace.  The  Clarion  Coal  is  exposed  in  a  spring 
below  this  bank,  but  an  accurate  measurement  of  it  could 
not  be  made.  It  is  quite  thin. 

The  Ferriferous  Limestone  could  not  be  found  in  this  im¬ 
mediate  vicinity,  and  it  is  either  quite  thin  or  absent.  Some 
ore  has  been  dug  from  the  shales  overlying  its  horizon. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  about  one  and  a 
half  miles  south  from  Clinton  station,  there  are  several 
quite  interesting  exposures  from  which  the  succession  illus¬ 
trated  by  Fig.  132  was  compiled.  This  also  fails  to  show  the 
Ferriferous  Limestone  in  situ ,  and  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  place  assigned  to  this  stratum  is  about  twenty  feet 
too  high  in  the  measures.  Ko  sign  of  the  rock  was  dis¬ 
covered  in  making  these  examinations,  and  its  elevation,  as 
given  in  the  section,  was  determined  from  a  terrace  south¬ 
east  of  the  clay  bank,  where  it  had  been  laid  bare  by  plow- 


Jfiver  leiref 


BEAVER  VALLEY. 


Y.  193 


Clinton  Section ,  JVo.  1. 

Bine  Slate. 

1057'  Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .  3' 

Fireclay, .  — 

Slate, .  30' 

Coal,  .  .  .  O'  8" 

Slate,  .  .  .  1/  0" 

1025'  Coal  cannel,  O'  5" 

Pottery  clay, .  8' 

Slate, .  10' 

1007'  Ferriferous  Limestone,  (?)  .  (?)  1' 

Interval,  .  170' 

837'  Homewood  (?)  Sandstone,  6'  to  30' 

829'  Coal  (Mercer  ?)  Beattie’s 

Bank, . .  .  2'  6" 

Slate, . 18'  to  O' 

810'  Coal  (Mercer  ?)  1' 

Sandstone,  . )  qq, 

730'  Concealed  to  River,  .  .  f 


At  the  time  of  making  the  above  measure¬ 
ments,  the  Kittanning  Middle  bed  was  just 
being  opened  upon  the  farm  owned  by  Mr. 

Beattie.  The  outcrop  coal  indicated  a 
thickness  of  about  three  feet. 

Thirty  feet  beneath  this  bed,  comes  the  Lower  Kittanning 
Coal  which  is  here  composed  of  a  bituminous  bench  under¬ 
laid  by  a  bench  of  cannel.  It  is  too  thin  to  be  mined.  Im¬ 
mediately  under  it  there  is  eight  feet  of  a  beautiful  pearly 
white  and  very  fat  clay.  Mr.  Baker  the  owner  states  that 
several  experiments,  many  of  which  resulted  favorably,  have 
been  made  with  it,  and  that  he  intends  to  bring  it  into  the 
market  as  a  pottery  clay.  It  is  the  Lower  Kittanning  Fire- 
clay  which  is  so  persistent  over  some  areas,  and  sometimes 
attains  a  size  of  fifteen  feet. 

The  coal  overlying  it  is  evidently  the  same  with  the  bed 
noted  in  Fig.  128,  and  is  usually  a  cannel  in  this  vicinity, 
but  always  too  thin  to  mine,  and  is  seldom  opened.  The 
farmers  are  well  aware  of  its  existence,  but  know  that  it  is 

worthless. 

13  Y. 


V.  132 


J  Lower 
Kitt.  “ 


2'  1" 


194  Y.  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  preceding  section  is,  how¬ 
ever,  its  lower  portion.  The  Homewood  Sandstone  here 
lies  quite  low,*  sinking  far  down  into  the  horizon  of  the 
Mercer  Group,  and  immediately  beneath  it  there  is  a  bed 
of  quite  good  coal  from  6  in.  to  2  ft.  G  in.  thick. 

The  latter  has  been  opened  by  Mr.  Beattie  at  a  bank  on 
the  river  bluff.  Immediately  above  the  entry  there  is  six 
feet  of  hard  massive  sandstone,  which  a  short  distance  north, 
swells  downwards  until  it  attains  a  size  of  thirty  feet  of 
hard  massive  conglomeratic  sandrock,  forming  vertical 
cliffs,  and  covering  the  ground  beneath  with  a  talus  of 
broken  stone  on  which  rest  immense  masses  of  rock  in  the 
shape  of  nearly  rectangular  blocks  from  20  to  80  feet  high. 

The  thickening  of  this  rock  cuts  off  the  coal,  which  rests 
on  a  bed  of  slate  that  is  also  pinched  out  by  it.  Though 
it  is  a  very  irregular  and  uncertain  bed,  it  yields  very 
good  coal  at  this  bank.  The  sketch  shown  by  Fig.  138 
is  intended  to  illustrate  peculiar  irregularities  of  its  base, 
and  is  a  conclusive  proof  that  it  had  its  origin  in  drifted 
carbonaceous  matter,  for  how  else  could  the  peculiar 
“shoe”  of  coal  be  formed  that  is  seen  projecting  from  the 
bed  downwards  into  the  underlying  slates. 


The  Connoquenessing  (Lower?)  Sandstone,  lying  near 
water  level  at  this  bank,  is  not  a  very  prominent  stratum, 
and  is  completely  overshadowed  by  the  more  massive  cliff 
rock  above  it. 


*  I  am  somewliat  inclined  to  think  this  stratum  may  be  a  split  from  the 
Connoquenessing  Upper  rock.  If  it  is  the  Homewood  SS.  its  position  is  very 
remarkable  lying  as  it  does  so  far  below  the  limestone. 


BEAVER  VALLEY. 


V.  195 


In  going  up  the  valley  from  Baker’s  Bank  to  Rock  Point, 
the  west  side  of  the  river  constantly  presents  steep,  (in  some 
places  vertical)  bluffs,  the  top  rock  of  which  is  the  Home- 
wood  Sandstone.  On  the  east  side  of  the  river  the  side 
slopes  are  not  so  abrupt,  but  are  still  very  steep.  The 
scenery  of  the  valley  is  in  some  places  quite  picturesque  if 
not  grand.  The  views  obtained  from  Rock  Point,  especi¬ 
ally  in  autumn  when  the  forests  first  show  their  red  and 
golden  tints,  are  extremely  beautiful.  The  romantic  old 
dam  with  its  lake-like  waters  to  the  north,  the  rushing  tor¬ 
rent  of  the  Connoquenessing  on  the  east,  hemmed  in  between 
rugged  walls  of  rock,  and  the  steep  west  bank  with  its  ver¬ 
tical  cliffs  and  a  background  of  distant  rolling  summits  of 
even  contour  with  green  fields  and  forests  commingled,  all 
combine  in  producing  one  of  the  most  beautiful  scenes  in 
western  Pennsylvania. 

The  section  compiled  at  Clinton  does  not  vary  materially 
from  the  preceding  one.  It  also  exhibits  the  probable  ab¬ 
sence  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  but  shows  the  presence 
of  both  the  Kittanning  beds  and  the  Clarion  coal  bed.  The 
interval  from  the  latter  to  the  Lower  Kittanning  is  very 
small,  being  but  32  feet  whereas  it  is  usually  about  80  feet. 

This  structure  can  only  be  explained  by  supposing  that 
an  ancient  current  eroded  these  slates  and  the  Ferriferous  4 
Limestone.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  such  was  the 
case,  as  at  Homewood  Mr.  White  has  shown*  that  an  ancient 
island  or  sand-bar  of  the  Homewood  Sandstone  extends  up 
to  the  horizon  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone.  This  bar  must 
have  had  some  influence  on  the  neighboring  currents,  or 
rather,  they  probably  were  instrumental  in  depositing  it, 
and  while  depositing  in  one  place,  and  subsequently  to  that 
deposition  also,  they  must  have  effected  more  or  less  erosion 
at  other  points.  One  of  these  currents  swept  across  the 
country  near  Clinton  after  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  had 
been  formed  (or  during  its  time  of  deposition)  and  effected 
(by  solution ,  not  f  riction )  an  erosionf  that  has  produced 
the  succession  exhibited  by  Fig.  134 : 

u  o 


*  Report  Q,  Chapter  VI. 


f  See  foot-note  Chapter  X  of  this  report. 


196  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Clinton  Section  No.  2. 

Slate. 

1031'  Kittanning  Middle  Coal,  .  .  3' 

Fireclay, . — 

Slate  and  shales, . 38' 

992'  Kittanning  Lower  Coal,  (can- 

nel,) . V 

Slates — place  of  Ferriferous 
Lime. ,  (should  be  80  ft.  ±, )  32' 

959  Clarion  Coal  bed, . 1' 

Interval, . 47' 

911  Brookville  (?)  Coal,  .  .  .  .  0'  9" 

Iron  ore, . O'  4"  to  0'  8" 

Interval, . 15' 

896  Homewood  SS. — massive,  .  20' 

876  Coal,  (Mercer  Group,)  ...  O'  8" 

Iron  ore,  (Mercer  Upper  Lime)  0'  6" 

Slate,  .  20' 

Sandstone,  “Connoqueness. ”70' 

Shales, . 56' 

730  River  level,  . . 0' 

Interval, . .40' 

Sharon  (?)  Coal — in  oil  well,  4' 

The  Brookville  and  Clarion  coal  beds  retain  their  normal 
position  in  the  above  description,  and  the  Mercer  group  is 
looorly  represented  by  a  thin,  valueless  coal,  underlaid  by 
a  small  bed  of  nodular  iron  ore,  which  possibly  may  be 
the  Upper  Mercer  Limestone. 

The  Homewood  Sandstone  apparently  lies  rather  low,  but 
this  is  due  to  its  diminished  thickness.  If  it  had  its  nor¬ 
mal  size  of  35  feet,  the  section  would  more  nearly  conform 
to  the  average  intervals.  W e  would  then  have  for  the  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  Homewood  Sandstone  down  to  the  Sharon 
Coal  bed  226  feet,  which  is  within  one  foot  (225')  of  the  in¬ 
terval  used  in  the  Key  Sections. 

It  is  to  be  sincerely  regretted  that  we  could  obtain  no 
record  of  the  strata  beneath  this  coal,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  found  at  a  depth  of  40  feet  in  an  old  well  drilled  for 
oil  near  the  mouth  of  Connoquenessing  creek.  A  record 


?  47 


BEAVER  VALLEY. 


Y.  197 


of  tlie  Wampum  Oil  Co’s  well  gives  (according  to  Mr. 
White)  below  this  horizon:  (See  Fig.  134,  lower  part.) 

“Hard  white  sandstone, . 55' 

Red  rock,  (iron  ore  ?) . 3' 

Slate,  . 44' 

Sandstone, . .18' 

Slate  to  bottom,” . O' 

The  “5o  ft.”  rock  is  evidently  the  upper  part  of  the  Ohio 
Conglomerate,  and  the  “18  ft.”  sand  is  the  second  member 
of  the  same  rock,  or  the  “ferriferous  sandstone”  of  Mr. 
White’s  Sharon  sections;  giving  a  total  of  120  ft.  -f-  211 
ft.=  331  feet  from  the  top  of  the  Homewood  Sandstone  to 
the  base  of  the  “ferriferous  sandstone,”  or  120'  -f-  226  ft 
—  34G  ft.  The  record  above  quoted  only  shows  294  feet  for 
this  interval,  but  in  it  the  Homewood  Sandstone  lies  quite 
low. 

Mr.  Mills,  the  foreman  of  Scott’s  banks  at  Clinton,  states 
that  in  prospecting  for  coal  with  the  drill,  he  passed  through 
a  few  inches  of  what  he  supposed  to  be  the  Ferriferous 
Limestone,  but  was  never  able  to  find  any  surface  exposures 
of  it  near  the  banks,  and  thinks  that  lie  was  probably  mis¬ 
taken  in  his  first  conclusion,  and  that  it  is  absent. 

The  rocks  rise  quite  rapidly  from  Baker  s  Bank  up  to 
Clinton.  On  the  east  side  of  the  river  the  rise  is  883' — 858' 
=  36  ft.  in  somewhat  less  than  two  miles,  or  at  a  rate  of 
19  ft.  per  mile.  North  of  Clinton,  and  from  that  point  to 
Wampum  the  rocks  are  quite  flat.  At  Lee’s  Bank  the  coal 
is  1039  ft.  above  ocean  level;  at  Davidson,  Green  and  Co.’s 
Bank,  1036  ft.,  and  at  Wampum  1041  feet. 

This  flattening  is  occasioned  by  the  Harrisville  (?)  syn¬ 
clinal,  which  crosses  the  Beaver  near  the  mouth  of  Conno- 
quenessing  creek.  The  anticlinal  crosses  close  to  Home- 
wood  Furnace.  In  this  vicinity  the  Harrisville  axis  is  prob¬ 
ably  replaced  by  two  minor  rolls,  one  crossing  at  Homewood 
Furnace,  and  the  other  a  short  distance  below  it.  With¬ 
out  a  supposition  of  this  kind,  we  are  unable  to  account 
for  the  peculiar  drainage  feature  noticed  at  the  mouth  of 
Slippery  Rock  creek,  where  the  latter  empties  into  the 
Connoquenessing  from  an  exactly  opposite  direction  to  the 


198  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CILAJSTCE. 


course  of  the  latter.  An  anticlinal  axis  crosses  the  latter 
stream  a  short  distance  above  the  Slippery  Rock’s  month, 
and  its  synclinal  is  distinctly  seen  at  the  continence  of  the 
two  streams,  whereas  the  synclinal  noticed  on  the  Beaver 
crosses  that  stream  between  Clinton  and  Wampum.  AT  either 
of  these  axes  are  very  prominent,  and  without  the  aid  of 
accurate  elevations  would  escape  detection.  They  prob¬ 
ably  both  die  out  in  a  southwesterly  direction. 


Wampum  Section. 

Slate. 

11777  Coal — Shannon’s  bank,  .  ...  0' 

Fireclay,  . S' 

Interval,  about  . 58' 

Coal, . V 

Sandy  shales,  about . 50' 

Blue  slate, . 23' 

1039'  Kittanning  middle,  (Lee’s  bank,)  3' 
Fireclay,  4'  to  8', . 4' 


V.  135 


Slate, 


55 


980'  Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  10'  to  20' 

Interval,  . 74' 

890'  Homewood  Sandstone,  massive,  30' 

860'  Blue  slate, . 

8 55'  Mercer  Upper  Limestone,  . 


fJJ 


Black  bituminous  slate,  . 

Mercer  Lower  Limestone,  . 

Very  bituminous  shale,  (coal,) 

Slate,  about . 

Connoquenessing  Sandstone  to  level 
of  Beaver  River  at  740'. 


.  ty 

.  2' 

* 

)  3' 

o 

.  15' 

.  V 

.  l'O" 

<D 

o 

U 

S' 

CD 

.  10'  . 

T4 


*  When  running  my  levels  in  this  vicinity,  I  did  not 
discover  the  exposures  from  which  this  part  of  the  descrip¬ 
tion  was  made.  They  were  on  a  subsequent  visit  pointed 
out  to  me  by  Mr.  White,  who  had  been  cognizant  of  their 
existence  for  some  time.  The  thicknesses  from  the  base 
of  the  Homewood  Sandstone  down  to  the  Connoque¬ 
nessing  sandrock  are  only  estimated  by  rough  hand  leveling,  but  are  approxi¬ 
mately  correct. 


rv 

\  7/80 

/WX7 

A  T\  T— 

/  \  /  \/ 

Rivor  few? 

BEAVER  VALLEY. 


V.  109 


At  Wampum,  quite  a  good  series  of  exposures  is  seen, 
which,  being  compiled  with  corrections  for  dip,  give  the 
succession  represented  in  Fig.  135,  page  138. 

The  coal  bed  opened  at  Shannon’s  bank  is  either  the 
Freeport  Upper  or  Lower  bed.  As  it  is  only  found  in  the 
highest  knobs  with  but  little  cover,  and  underlies  a  very 
small  area,  it  can  never  be  of  much  value.  A  few  feet  above 
it  fragments  of  limestone  were  observed  that  looked  very 
much  like  Freeport  Up}3er  Limestone. 

From  this  coal  down  to  the  Middle  Kittanning  bed  no 
good  exposures  were  seen,  and  the  measures  in  this  inter¬ 
val  are  described  from  the  record  of  a  bore  hole  furnished 
by  Mr.  Mills,  foreman  of  Scott’s  bank. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  here  lies  remarkably  close  to 
the  Ferriferous  Limestone,  but  its  position  is  readily  ex¬ 
plained  by  the  erosion  already  described  which  has  de¬ 
nuded  the  slates  and  shales  of  this  horizon  near  Clin¬ 
ton.  No  trace  of  the  Kittanning  Lower  Coal  was  de¬ 
tected,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  has  been  swept  away  with 
its  associate  measures.  If  it  is  ever  found  in  this  vicinity, 
it  will  probably  lie  but  a  few  feet  below  the  former  bed. 

Between  Clinton  and  Wampum,  and  from  Wampum  to 
New  Castle,  the  Kittanning  Middle  bed  furnishes  excellent 
coal  and  is  mined  quite  largely.  Its  best  development 
occurs  between  the  first  named  places.  Lee'  s  Bank  at  Clin¬ 
ton  has  a  capacity  of  from  150  to  800  tons  a  day  ;  with 
nearly  three  feet  of  good  coal.  The  Wampum  Bank  can 
mine  100  tons,  and  has  an  average  thickness  of  2'  8",  rest¬ 
ing  on  a  bed  of  underclay  about  7  feet  thick.  The  main 
entry  runs  through  the  hill,  a  distance  of  nearly  one  mile. 

At  Davidson  Green  and  Co.’s  bank  the  bed  averages  2; 
8".  They  mine  140  tons,  but  have  a  larger  capacity  A 
The  coal  mined  from  the  above  banks  is  nearly  all  sent  to 
New  Castle  for  rolling  mill  and  boiler  use. 

Both  the  Brookville  and  Clarion  Coal  beds  are  quite  thin 
and  impure  in  this  section,  and  are  opened  at  few  places. 
No  coal  is  mined  from  either  of  them. 

The  Homewood  Sandstone  (top  of  No.  XII)  is  here  pres 


*  In  October  1875. 


200  y. 


HEP  GET  OF  PEOGEESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


ent  as  a  hard  massive  stratum  thirty  feet  thick,  jutting  out 
in  bold  escarpments,  and  covering  the  surface*  with  large 
rectangular  blocks.  Above  Wampum  it  rapidly  loses  its 
hard  and  massive  character,  and  changes  to  a  very  slialy 
rock  which  jmesents  few  outcrops.  Its  place  is  usually 
marked  by  a  gentle  terrace.  At  Hardscrabble  opposite 
Newport  it  can  barely  be  detected,  and  from  this  point 
northward  to  within  two  miles  of  New  Castle  no  outcrop 
of  it  was  found.  At  the  upper  end  of  Hog  Hollow  two 
miles  south  of  New  Castle  several  good  exposures  occur, 
but  they  will  be  described  in  connection  with  the  exposures 
near  New  Castle. 

A  striking  similarity  will  be  observed  by  comparing  the 
Mercer  Group  of  the  preceding  section,  with  Prof.  Lesque- 
reux’s  description  (see  Fig.  127)  of  the  same  strata  at  Wir- 
temburg. 

From  Wampum  northward,  the  two  limestones  of  this 
group  are  seldom  both  present  in  one  locality,  or  if  present, 
both  are  rarely  seen  at  one  exposure.  First  one  and  then 
the  other  will  apparently  disappear,  and  it  is  often  impos¬ 
sible  to  tell  which  of  the  two  is  present.  The  upper  one 
seems  to  be  rather  more  persistent  than  the  lower,  and  is 
a  purer  limestone.  It  does  not  exhibit  the  t'ucoid  markings 
(Caulerpites  margiuatus,  Lesqx)  described  by  Prof.  Lesque- 
reux  as  occurring  upon  the  lower  bed.  * 

/ 

The  Sharon  Coal. 

This  bed  should  be  found  at  from  80  to  60  feet  beneath 
water  level  in  the  Beaver  river  between  Wampum  and 
Clinton,  but  it  is  very  improbable  that  it  will  ever  be  found 
as  a  workable  bed  so  far  south  of  its  best  development,  and 
even  if  such  prove  to  be  the  case,  it  will  be  many  years  be¬ 
fore  the  price  of  coal  will  warrant  the  prospecting,  shafting, 
etc.,  necessary  to  open  and  mine  it.  On  Slippery  Hock 
creek  a  bed  of  coal  is  claimed  to  have  been  passed  through 
by  oil  wells  at  a  depth  of  41  feet,  which  would  about  corre¬ 
spond  to  the  horizon  of  this  coal ;  and  in  a  well  sunk  for  oil 


See  Report  J.  page  97. 


BEAVER  VALLEY. 


Y.  201 


on  tlie  Beaver  river  near  Connoquenessing  creek,  a  coal  bed 
four  feet  thick  is  said  to  have  been  struck  at  a  depth  of  50 
feet.  As  beds  of  bituminous  shale  and  black  slate  are  often 
mistaken  for  coal  by  oil  well  drillers,  little  dependence 
should  be  placed  upon  any  such  reports. 

A  sharp  local  rise  pervades  the  measures  for  a  distance 
of  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  miles  above  Wampum,  car¬ 
rying  up  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  and  Middle  Kittanning 
coal  to  a  height  of  70  or  80  feet  above  their  elevations  at 
the  latter  place. 

The  limestone  is  12  feet  thick  and  is  found  at  an  elevation 
of  1052  feet,  with  the  coal  72  feet  above  it,  and  about  two 
feet  and  a  half  thick.  Beneath  the  latter  is  an  immense 
bed  of  fireclay  which  measures  15  or  16  feet  y  [35 

and  accounts  for  the  increase  in  the  inter¬ 
val  between  the  coal  and  limestone. 

Hog  Hollow  Section ,  Ho.  1. 

Slate. 

1124',  111  A,  1151',  Kittanning  Middle 

Coal, .  2/6// 

Fireclay,  .  . . — 

Interval, . 72',  70',  97' 

1052',  1044/,  1054',  Ferriferous  Lime¬ 
stone,  . 20' 

1084,  Interval, . about  91' 

943,  Coal  (Brookville  %  Mercer  ?)  .  .  .  V 
Interval,  (soft  rocks,)  ...  33' 

910'  Coal,  Mercer, . thin. 

Interval  (Shaly  SS.,)  .  .  .124' 

7 86'  White  friable  sandstone,  ....  8' 

750'  Concealed  to  river,  . 26' 

In  Hog  Hollow  the  Ferriferous  Limestone 
is  frequently  seen  in  bold  escarpments,  jut¬ 
ting  out  on  both  sides  of  the  valley.  It  has 
been  quarried  very  little.  The  Middle  Kit¬ 
tanning  coal  is  opened  and  worked  for  local 
consumption  at  a  number  of  banks.  It  aver¬ 
ages  two  and  a  half  feet  and  is  a  very  fair 
coal. 


202  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Where  first  observed  the  limestone  lies  at  an  elevation 
of  1044  feet  and  ranges  from  15  to  20  feet  in  thickness  with 
the  coal  70  feet  above  it.  This  shows  a  local  north  dip  of 
8  or  10  feet  from  the  last  locality,  a  distance  of  about  one 
mile.  The  south  dip  however  soon  re-asserts  itself,  and 
one  mile  farther  north  we  see  the  former  at  1054  feet  with 
the  coal  97  feet  above  it. 

The  sudden  increase  in  this  interval  is  probably  due  to 
the  fact  that  we  have  here  passed  the  area  over  which  it 
suffered  from  the  ancient  denudation  so  marked  a!  Clinton, 
and  reached  a  position  in  the  old  sea  bed  where  these  ma¬ 
terials  were  redeposited  in  stiller  water. 

In  going  from  Hardscrabble  to  this  point,  the  succession 
shown  in  Fig.  136  was  observed. 


The  section  compiled  at  Moravia  is  quite  similar  to  this 
one,  and  need  not  be  given.  The  limestone  is  worked 
at  Mr.  John  Shinn’s  quarry,  wherefrom  50  to  75  tons  per 


day  are  taken  out.  At  the  time  of  visit¬ 
ing  it  most  of  the  stone  was  being  sent  to 
Leetonia,  Ohio.  Its  top  is  1060  feet  above 
ocean  level  and  93  feet  beneath  the  Kit- 


// 


V.I37 


89 


m 


723 


7T7 - ^ 


tanning  Middle  Coal  which  is  there  2'  6 
thick. 

Returning  to  Hog  Hollow  we  find  about 
one  and  a  half  miles  north  of  the  last  local¬ 
ity,  the  Ferriferous  Limestone  at  a  height 
of  1113  feet,  with  the  coal  89  feet  above  it. 

Hog  Hollow  Section ,  Ho.  2. 

Slate. 

1202'  Kit  tanning  Middle  coal,  ....  2' 

Fireclay. 

Concealed, . 89' 

1113'  Ferriferous  Limestone, . 15' 

Interval  partly  concealed,  contain¬ 
ing  Homewood  Sandstone,  .  .  123' 

(Mercer)  Coal, . thin. 

760'  Interval  to  river  level, . 215' 

Frequent  outcrops  of  one  of  the  Mercer  Group  of  coals 
are  seen  on  the  roadside  at  a  distance  beneath  the  Ferrif- 


r.  c. 


z: 


J  loSihvrlei'et  r 

213 


BEAVEE  VALLEY. 


Y.  203 


erous  Limestone  of  123  feet,  more  or  less.  These  expos¬ 
ures  furnish  the  section  shown  by  Fig.  137. 

The  above  elevations  show  another  sharp  rise  of  about 
55  feet  in  one  and  a  half  miles. 

The  Kittanning  Middle  Coal  lies  quite  near  the  hill-tops 
with  but  50  feet  of  cover.  It  is  mined  principally  for  local 
use,  but  a  small  quantity  is  occasionally  hauled  to  New 
Castle. 


At  the  head  of  the  Hollow  and  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  south  from  New  Castle  several  good  exposures  are 
seen,  which  being  compiled  into  one  section  with  correc¬ 
tions  for  dip,  give  the  description  illustrated  by  Fig.  138. 
The  country  is  not  high  enough,  in  this  immediate  neigh¬ 
borhood,  to  contain  the  Middle  Kittanning 
Coal  bed. 

Hog  Hollow  Section ,  No.  3. 

Slate,  shaly  and  ferruginous. 

1128'  Ferriferous  Limestone,  grey,  15' )  2(y 
1113'  blue,  5'f 


V.  138 


F.C. 


Fireclay,  .  .  . 
Scrubgrass  Coal, 
Fireclav. 


Partly  concealed,  contains  ) 
Homewood  SS.,  some- V 115' 

times  friable, . ) 

Coal  (Mercer  Group), .  V  6" 

990'  Mercer  Upper  (?)  Limestone,  .  .  1'  8" 

Concealed,  . 12' 

976'  Sandstone — quarried  (Upper  Con- 

noquessing  Sandstone,  ....  50' 

Blue  slate  with  ore, . 40' 

886'  Sandstone, — flaggy,  25'  \  Lower  ) 

861'  Slate,  slialy,  .  .  .  15'  >-  Con.  >  65' 
846'  Sandstone(exposed)  25'  )  SS.  ) 

790'  Concealed  to  river  level,  about  .  31' 


The  Ferriferous  Limestone,  which  tops  the  above  sec¬ 
tion,  is  finely  exposed  in  the  quarry  of  Green,  Marcus  & 
Co.,  and  consists  of  fifteen  feet  of  gray  underlaid  by  five 
feet  of  blue  limestone.  It  lies  immediately  on  top  the  hill 


204  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


\ 

with  from  one  to  eight  feet  of  cover,  and  has  been  stripped 
from  about  seven  acres  of  ground.  The  production  when 
in  full  blast  ranges  as  high  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  tons,  nearly  all  of  which  is  used  in  New  Castle. 

The  Scrubgrass  coal  is  found  just  beneath  the  limestone, 
but  is  too  thin  to  mine. 

In  Hog  Hollow  the  Homewood  Sandstone  is  not  a  promi¬ 
nent  stratum,  but  at  New  Castle  it  is  about  thirty  feet  thick 
and  outcrops  in  several  places  at  a  height  of  about  250  feet 
above  river  level.  The  Mercer  Group  has  been  found  im¬ 
mediately  beneath  it  but  no  good  exposures  can  now  be 
seen. 

On  the  road  that  runs  up  Hog  Hollow,  the  Upper  Mercer 
Limestone  is  exposed  at  an  old  coal  opening.  It  is  said  to 
be  somewhat  hydraulic. 

The  Connoquenessing  Upper  and  Lower  Sandstones  are 
well  exposed  on  Big  Run  near  the  head  of  the  Hollow, 
where  the  former  has  been  quarried.  It  yields  a  very  fair 
stone  but  is  rather  friable.  The  lower  member  is  split  into 
two — possibly  into  three — sandrocks,  which  are  parted  by 
late  and  shale,  with  streaks  of  impure  coal. 

The  Sharon  Coal  bed  should  occur  at  the  base  of  the 
bottom  interval  of  concealed  measures,  but  no  trace  of  it 
has  ever  been  found. 

On  the  fiat  at  New  Castle,  and  about  ten  feet  above  water 
level,  at  an  elevation  of  800  ft.  ±  above  ocean  level,  stands 
the  derrick  of  Messrs.  Brown,  Reis,  and  Berger’s  deep  well. 
By  making  correction  for  dip  we  find  that  the  derrick  floor 
lies  about  ten  feet  below  the  twenty-five  foot  sandstone, 
noted  at  the  bottom  of  the  preceding  section.  The  follow¬ 
ing  record  (see  Fig.  150,  plate  V)  from  the  original  memo¬ 
randa  in  the  company’s  books,  was  kindly  placed  at  our 
disposal. 


{1189)  Shenango  Iron  Company' s  Gas  Well. 

October,  1875. 

On  the  flat  near  the  furnaces  at  New  Castle,  Lawrence 
county,  Pa.  Authority,  Reis,  Brown,  and  Berger. 


SHENANG0  VALLEY. 


Y.  205 


Well  mouth  above  ocean  in  feet,  approximately, 

Gravel, . ^  Drift  $  •  •  •  • 

Blue  mud  and  quicksand,  .  ,  \  r  ’  (  .... 

Slate  rock, . 

Slate, . ^  f 

Sand  shale, . 

Slate  rock, . 

SS.,  gray, . 

Slate, . 

SS.,  white,  salt  water  and  oil, 

Slate,  .....  . 

Red  rock, . Bedford  shale,  . 

Slate,  . 

SS., . 

Slate,  . 

Sand  shales, . 

Slate . 


>  Cuyahoga  shale,  < 
.  .  Berea  Grit,  . 


SS.,  gray,  . 
Red  rock,  . 
Slate,  .  .  . 
Slate,  .  .  . 
Shales,  hard, 
Slate,  hard, 
Sand  shales, 
Slate,  hard, 

SS.,  gray,  . 
Slate,  .  .  . 

SS.,  gray,  . 
Slate,  .  .  . 

SS.,  gray,  . 
Slate,  .  .  . 

SS.,  gray,  . 
Slate,  .  .  . 

SS.,  gray,  . 

?  about,  . 


. +  800 

15  to  15  = 

125  to  140  = 

3  to  143  = 

61  to  204  == 

54  to  258  = 

54  to  312  = 

44  to  356  = 

26  to  382  = 

78  to  460  = 

35  to  495  = 

70  to  565  =s 
151  to  716  = 

43  to  759  = 

70  to  829  = 

30  to  859  = 

75  to  934  = 

31  to  965  = 

3  to  968  = 

19  to  987  = 

207  to  1194  = 

21  to  1215  = 

155  to  1370  = 

47  to  1417  = 

68  to  1485  = 

50  to  1535  = 

154  to  1689  = 

8  to  1697  = 

64  to  1761  = 

15  to  1776  = 

69  to  1845  = 

17  to  1862  = 

103  to  1965  = 

80  to  2045  — 

655  to  2700  = 


Drive  pipe,  143 — 7.12'.  Cased  witli  5f"  casing  at  468'. 

Gas  at  313',  617',  657',  and  717'.  Salt  water  and  oil  show 
at  395'. 

This  oil  is  of  32°  gravity,  dark,  and  very  much  like  the 
Franklin  oil.  It  comes  to  the  surface  with  the  salt  water, 
which  flows  constantly  between  the  casing  and  drive-pipe, 
but  there  is  not  a  sufficient  yield  to  pay  for  the  trouble  of 
collecting  it.  It  is  supposed  to  come  in  at,  or  near,  the 
horizon  of  the  salt  water.  When  this  well  was  completed 
there  was  a  considerable  flow  of  gas.  It  was  then  used  to 
light  one  of  the  shops.  The  yield  at  present  is  very  small. 

This  well  was  first  drilled  to  1,965',  but  was  afterwards 


206  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


sunk  to  2,700'.  From  1,965'  to  2,700'  there  was  no  apparent 
change  in  the  rocks,  which  consisted  mainly  of  hard,  dark 
siates,  with  occasional  sand  shells. 

At  the  E.  &  P.  R.  R.  station  at  New  Castle  there  is  an  excel¬ 
lent  exposure  of  the  Connoquenessing  Lower  Sandstone.  It 
is  here,  as  in  the  preceding  description,  sp)lit  into  two  rocks 
by  a  band  of  shale.  At  the  base  of  the  upper  sub-division 
a  very  thin  coal  seam  was  detected.  This  is  probably  the 
representative  of  the  Strawbridge  Coal  of  Ohio,  which  usu¬ 
ally  lies  about  50  or  60  feet  above  the  Sharon  (or  Block) 
Coal  bed.  The  upper  part  of  the  overlying  sandstone  is 
quite  micaceous  and  is  probably  thicker  than  the  size  as¬ 
signed  it  in  the  following  description  :  (See  Fig.  139.) 

New  Castle  Section. 

972'  ^  White  micaceous  Sandstone,  20' 

§  §  Coal  1", . thin. 

Aj  S  Bluish  grey  ore  bearing  shale,  18' 

£  ^  Slialy  white  Sandstone,  .  .  23' 

|  J  Sliale, .  8' 

803'  f-5  R.  R.  level. 

The  Sharon  Coal  bed  should  occur  at,  or  a  short  distance 
below  water  level,  but  it  is  probably  absent. 

A  cutting  on  the  railroad  1000  feet  north  of  the  station 
exi30ses  a  bed  of  sandstone  about  25  feet  thick,  resting  on 
fifteen  feet  of  shale,  and  dipping  strongly  to  the  south. 
This  is  evidently  the  same  with  the  -lower  sandrock  of  the 
above  section. 

At  Harbor  Bridge  four  miles  northwest  of  New  Castle, 
there  is  an  excellent  series  of  exposures  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Slienango  extending  from  the  top  of  the  Homewood 
Sandstone  down  to  the  base  of  the  Lower  Connoquenessing 
Sandstone,  which  being  compiled  into  one  section,  give  the 
succession  represented  in  Fig.  140. 

The  two  foot  coal  seam  noted  at  an  elevation  of  972  feet 
has  been  opened  and  mined  near  the  railroad  station,  yield¬ 
ing  quite  good  coal,  but  it  is  too  thin  for  extensive  mining. 

The  Mercer  Upper  Limestone  is  exposed  in  the  first  ravine 
below  the  station  at  an  elevation  of  984  feet,  and  is  overlaid 
by  three  feet  of  bituminous  shale  (coal  in  Hog  Hollow)  and 


SHENANGO  VALLEY. 


V.  207 


two  feet  of  iron  ore,  while  beneath  it  are  seen  three  feet  of 
bituminous  shale,  (very  impure  coal),  eighteen  inchess  of 
sandstone  and  three  feet  of  blue  slaty  shale,  below  which 
comes  the  coal  bed  mined  near  the  station. 


Harbor  Bridge  Section. 
1025/  Homewood  Sandstone  (in 

summits), . 

Slate  about,  . 

Nodular  iron  ore,  .  .  . 
984'  Very  bituminous  shale, 
Mercer  Upper  Limestone, 
Very  bituminous  shale 

(coal), . 

Sandstone  (U  6"),  ... 
Blue  slaty  shale  (3'  6"), 
Coal — Mercer  Lower, 

972'  Fireclay, . 

Interval,  .  . . 

923'  Hard  massive  sandstone, 

Blue  slate, . 

895/  Coal  (5  inches),  .... 
Shalv  slate,  ..... 

Blue  slate, . 

88U  Sandstone, . 

Coal  (one  inch),  .... 

Shale,  . 

Sandstone, . 

Shale  to  R.  R.  level, 

805/  Railroad  level. 


V.I40 


Fredrickstown  Axis. 

In  Hog  Hollow  one  and  a  half  miles  south  of  New  Cas¬ 
tle,  the  Lower  Mercer  Limestone  is  nine  hundred  and  ninety 
feet  above  ocean  level,  while  at  Harbor  Bridge  it  is  but 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-four  feet  above  the  same  datum, 
showing  a  difference  of  (990 — 984)  =  6  ft.  between  the  two 
localities.  This  distance  is  about  five  and  a  half  miles.  As 


208  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


the  dip  at  New  Castle  is  apparently  quite  sharp,  we  can 
only  account  for  the  relatively  low  position  of  the  Lime¬ 
stone  at  the  latter  place  by  supposing  that  an  anticlinal 
crosses  the  county  somewhere  near  New  Castle.  By  ref¬ 
erence  to  Plate  IV  it  will  be  seen  that  this  is  exactly  where 
we  should  expect  to  find  the  prolongation  of  the  Fredricks- 
town  Axis. 

The  Connoquenessing  Sandstones  are  exposed  in  two 
ravines  a  short  distance  south  of  Harbor  Bridge.  The 
upper  rock  shows  a  quite  sudden  variation,  swelling  in  a 
short  distance  from  six  feet  to  twenty-five  feet.  •  In  the 
first  gully  there  is  an  exposure  of : 

Sandstone,  . 25'  }  ^ 

Blue  slate,  . 3'  j 

Coal, . 0'  5" 

which  in  the  second  ravine  has  changed  to : 


Sandstone,  . 6'  An/ 

Blue  slate,  . 22'  ) 

Coal, . O'  5" 

and  clearly  demonstrates  that  in  this  case  at  least,  the 
variation  is  in  the  bottom ,  and  not  in  the  ton  of  the  sand- 
rock. 

The  five  inch  coal  seam  has  been  opened  and  a  small 
quantity  taken  from  it  for  blacksmithing.  It  is  underlaid 
by  fourteen  feet  of  slate  resting  on  twenty  feet  of  sand¬ 
stone.  The  latter  rock  is  the  upper  one  of  the  two  sandstones 
seen  at  New  Castle  station.  The  exposures  beneath  it  were 
not  good,  and  the  measurements  below  it  have  been  sup¬ 
plied  from  the  New  Castle  section. 

From  Harbor  Bridge  to  Nashua  the  measures  rise  quite 
rapidly,  averaging  forty-one  feet  per  mile.  The  distance  is 
three  miles  and  the  rise  in  the  Upper  (?)  Mercer  Limestone 
is  one  hundred  and  twenty- three  feet,  being  found  at  the 
latter  place  at  an  elevation  of  1107  feet. 

The  section  shown  by  Fig.  141  was  compiled  from  data 
collected  near  Nashua. 

The  coal  above  the  limestone  from  a  shaft  twenty-seven 
feet  deep  is  mined,  and  raised  by  horse  power.  The  bed 
averages  2'  9"  and  yields  very  good  coal. 


SIIEXANGO  VALLEY. 


y.  209 


Nashua  Section. 

1136'  ^  Month  of  Shaft. 

1136' t?  Blue  slate  with  ore,  ....  24' 

|  Coal, .  2'  9" 

1109'  ^Fireclay,  1'  to  3', .  2' 

g  Limestone  (Mercer),  ....  1'  6" 

£  Coal,  .......  1'  4"  to  1'  6" 

Fireclay, . — 

Interval, . 100' 

1001'  Sandstone,  top  seen,  ...  — 

Interval, . 130' 

856'  Flaggy  Sandstone,  ....  thin. 

Shales, . .  42' 

813'  Railroad  level. 


The  eighteen  inch  seam  beneath  the  limestone 


y  i4i 


r.c. 


lOQ 


Tsr  > 


A  Z 


T 


?  no 


has  been  opened  and  worked  but  is  now  aban¬ 
doned.  This  coal  is  fair  but  the  bed  too  thin 
for  profitable  mining. 

From  this  coal  bed  down  to  river  level  no 
good  outcrops  were  observed.  The  erosion  has 
left  the  country  so  rounded,  and  there  is  so 
much  local  drift  on  the  side  hills  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
tell  the  character  of  rock  underlying  them. 

•y  O 

The  Sharon  coal  should  be  found  at  a  height  of  about 


100  feet  above  water  level,  and  the  Ohio  Conglomerate 
should  also  be  found  above  water  level. 

On  top  the  hill  west  of  Pulaski  two  of  the  Mercer  coals 
have  been  opened  and  worked  but  long  since  abandoned. 
A  new  drift  was  being  driven  in  on  the  upper  seam  when 
the  following  measurements  were  made,  but  the  coal  was 
not  there  visible.  The  position  of  the  limestone  (Mercer) 
was  only  approximately  determined  from  old  iron  ore  dig¬ 
gings  in  the  same  vicinity.  Figure  142  shows  the  section 
compiled  here. 

The  Mercer  Group  here  exhibits  a  total  thickness  of 
about  60  feet,  which  is  much  more  than  it  shows  in  any  of 
the  previously  described  sections.  This  thickening  takes 
place  both  above  and  below  the  limestone,  for  the  lower 
coal  is  here  24  feet  beneath  it  while  at  Harbor  bridge  this 
14  V. 


210  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


interval  is  but  10  feet ;  and  the  upper  coal  is  y  [42 
14  feet  above  the  same  stratum,  whereas  at 
Nashua  there  is  only  two  feet  of  fireclay  be¬ 
tween  them. 

Pulaslci  Section. 

Surface, . 

Slate,  about . 


1148'  .  Coal,  . 

Slate  with  ball  iron  ore,  .  . 
1134' ^8  Mercer  Upper  Limestone,  . 

Blue  slate  with  nodular  ore, 
1119/  Fireclay  with  ball  iron  ore, 

Blue  slate, . 

llO?'  g  Mercer  Lower  Coal,  .... 
£  Fireclay, . 


20' 

2'  6" 
14' 

2' 

13' 

3' 

8' 

1'  6" 


F.C 


Z2 


7 


74 


<D 


!•  74' 


I 


1013' 


823' 


itr 


rsnz. 


*20 


? 


140 


pO 

I level  igtll 


Interval,  with  sandstone, 

Sandstone,  (top  of  Connoque- 

nessing  Lower, . 20' 

Coal, . O'  5"  to  0'  7' 

Interval,  with  SS.  near  top,  .  140' 

Shales — to  R.  R.  level,  ...  50' 

The  sandrock  overlying  the  thin  coal  seam 
was  passed  through  in  a  bore  hole  and  is  re¬ 
ported  as  42  feet  thick,  but  surface  outcrops  show  a  thick¬ 
ness  of  only  twenty  feet.  It  is  the  top  rock  of  the  Conno- 
quenessing  Lower  Sandstone  and  is  very  variable. 

The  horizon  of  the  Sharon  Coal  is  one  hundred  and  forty 
feet  more  or  less  above  railroad  level.  Much  search  has 
been  made  for  the  bed,  but  as  yet  no  trace  of  it  has  ever 
been  found.  The  thin  coal  noted  in  the  above  description 
lies  about  fifty  feet  above  it,  and  is -the  “  Rider”  of  the 
Block  Coal, — the  Strawbridge  Coal  of  Ohio. 

From  Nashua  to  Pulaski  there  is  a  rise  in  the  formations 
of  about  twelve  feet  per  mile. 

About  four  miles  northeast  from  Pulaski,  in  boring  for 
the  Sharon  Block  Coal,  a  good  development  of  the  Mercer 
Group  was  passed  through.  This  bore  hole  is  situated  on 
the  Love  Farm,  two  miles  S.  20°  E.  from  Bethel.  The  same 
group  was  also  found  in  a  bore  hole  near  Greenfield,  about 


SHENANGO  VALLEY. 


Y.  211 


two  miles  east  of  Bethel.  The  following  records  were  kindly 
furnished  by  Mr.  Frank  Livermore  of  Nesliannock,  and  the 
elevations  were  supplied  from  levels  run  by  Mr.  Straw- 
bridge,  mining  engineer,  of  Sharon.  By  combining  the  two 
records  we  obtain  the  succession  shown  in  Fig.  143. 

Bore  hole  on  Lore  Farm  (1.1+3  A.) 

1283'  Surface  drift,  . 20'  y  |43 

Slate,  .  45' 

Fireclay, . 8' 


Slate, 


12' 


1198'  ^Coal  (Mercer),) . 2'  6"  KT*®* 

1195'  2  Firelay,  . . 8' 

^  Slate, . 24' 

1163'  g  Mercer  Limestone, . 3' 

1160'  Jj  Coal,  3'  to  3'  6", . 3' 

1157'  ^  Slate, . 10' 

SS. — Upper  Connoquenessing,  .  62' 

1083'  Coal — (bottom  of  hole),  1'  6"  to  2',  2' 

For  convenience  of  comparison  the  eleva¬ 
tions  of  the  following  section  have  been  car¬ 
ried  down  on  the  dip  to  the  location  of  the 
preceding  record. 

Bore  hole  near  Greenfield  (11+3  B.) 

Surface, . — 

Interval — not  noted, . 78' 

Mercer  Limestone, . 2' 

Coal,  3'  6"  to  4', . 4' 

Slate, . 28' 

SS. — (Connoquenessing  rock),  .  73' 

Slate  and  -fireclay, . 28' 

Sandstone, . 14' 

Grey  slate, . 20' 

Sharon  Block  Coal, . 4' 

Slate, . 5' 

Sandstone, . 20'  or  30' 

Shale. 

This  record  shows  that  the  Love  Farm  boring  should  have 
been  about  one  hundred  feet  deeper  to  reach  the  horizon  of 
the  Block  Coal  of  Sharon,  Greenfield  and  Bethel. 


1163' 

1161' 

1157' 


mm 


994' 

990' 


212  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


The  coal  bed  overlying  the  limestone  has  been  opened  and 
arrangements  for  working  it  were  being  made  in  the  fall  of 
1875.  It  is  of  unusnal  size  and  rather  peculiar  character 
in  this  locality,  being  neither  a  true  caking  nor  a  real 
block  coal,  and  contains  much  mineral  charcoal.  It  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  identical  with  the  seam  mined  at  Nashua. 

Both  of  the  preceding  records  fail  to  note  any  sandstone 
at  the  horizon  of  the  Homewood  Sandstone,  and  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  that  this  rock  is  either  very  thin,  quite  shaly,  or  lo¬ 
cally  absent  in  that  neigborhood. 

On  Mr.  Gundy’s  farm  near  Middlesex  several  drill  holes 
have  been  sunk  in  searching  for  the  Block  Coal,  but  none  of 
them  were  drilled  deep  enough  to  reach  its  horizon.  Their 
average  depth  was  about  140  feet  whereas  the  Sharon  Coal 
if  present,  lies  200  feet  more  or  less  below  the  summits  and 
about  110  to  125  feet  above  R.  R.  level. 

The  thin  coal  at  which  the  bore  holes  stopped  is  not  the 
Sharon  Coal,  but  the  Strawbridge  Coal  lying 
from  50  to  60  feet  above  the  Block  Coal. 

The  section  illustrated  by  Fig.  144  was  com¬ 
piled  partly  from  the  records  of  these  bore 
holes,  and  partly  from  surface  exposures  : 

Middlesex  Section. 

1154'  Surface, — drift,  ....  20' 

1134'  .  Sandstone, . 70'  to  35' 

A  E?  Slate, . 11'  to  46' 

1053'  q  2  Sandstone, . 40'  to  5' 

^  Slate, — with  small  coal,  O'  to  35' 

1013'  Coal, — bottom  of  drill 

holes, . 0'  2"  to  0'  6" 

Partly  concealed,  place 
g  p<  of  Sharon  Coal  at  bot- 

rt  o  tom, .  76' 

937' m  &  Hard  massive  sandstone 

(Ohio  Conglomerate,)  27' 

910'  Shales  with  iron  ore 
833'  partly  concealed  to  R. 

R.  level  at  Middlesex,  77' 

The  above  description  begins  at  the  base  of  the  Mercer 


V.I44 


20 

*  =.  <=»: 


17 


1—  I2L 


?  77 

21. R. level. 


SHENANGO  VALLEY. 


Y.  213 


Group  which  has  been  eroded  from  the  surface.  Large 
bodies  of  drift  now  occupy  its  horizon,  resting  immediately 
on  the  Upper  Connoquenessing  Sandstone. 

The  variations  shown  by  the  Connoquenessing  Sandstones 
are  quite  remarkable,  as  the  bore  holes  by  which  these 
changes  were  detected  are  located  in  close  proximity,  three 
of  them  falling  within  a  radius  of  500  feet.  The  sandstones 
occupying  this  interval  are  always  more  inconstant  in 
thickness  and  character  than  either  the  Homewood  Sand¬ 
stone  or  Ohio  Conglomerate.  The  coal  shafts  near  Sharon 
and  Bethel  sometimes  show  wonderful  changes  in  their 


lithological  character,  for  sometimes  one  shaft  will  pass 
through  nothing  but  sandstone,  while  another  a  quarter  or 
half  a  mile  off,  will  go  through  nothing  but  slate. 

The  sandrock  noted  in  the  section  at  an  elevation  of  93? 
feet  is  exposed  in  a  quarry  a  short  distance  from  Middlesex 
Station.  It  is  without  doubt,  the  rock  underlying  the  Sharon 
Coal  bed, — the  “Conglomerate”  of  Ohio,  or  at  least  the 
upper  part  of  that  rock.  Beneath  it  the  exposures  are 
rather  meager :  they  consist  of  ferriferous  shales,  slates, 
and  flaggy  sandstone. 

Bethel  Section. 

1123'  p,  Surface  level. 


1128'  §  Clay  “hard-pan,” . 14' 

O  Slate, . 25' 

S  Ball  iron  ore, . 1' 

£  Slate,  with  a  10"  coal  seam 
near  middle, . 60' 


V.  145 


1023'  g1  Block  coal,  .  .  .  .  3'  6"  to 

Fireclay, . 0'  to 

Sandstone,  .... 
Fireclay, . 6' 


1020'  2 
Cs 


PS 
o 


Flag,”  SS.; 


2' 


Hard  sandstone,  .  (25') 
£  Interval,  (shales  ?  )  .  . 


3' 

6' 

1'  6" 
to  1' 
to  20' 
to  (5') 

.  40' 


j-25' 

J 


930'  fee  Shale  and  flaggy  ferriferous 

J  SS., . 15' 

o  Shale, . 26' 

889' 3  Thinbedded  flaggy  SS.,  .  .  — 
Concealed, . — 


214  y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


Ill  going  up  tlie  coal  railway  from  Middlesex  to  Betliel 
the  section  represented  by  Fig.  145  was  compiled.  The 
upper  part  of  the  description  was  made  from  the  strata 
passed  through  in  Spearman,  Ulp  &  Co.’s  shaft  at  the  lat¬ 
ter  place. 

The  surface  has  been  planed  off  in  the  vicinity  of  Bethel, 
below  the  horizon  of  the  Mercer  Group. 

Above  the  Block  Coal  (Sharon  bed)  we  would  expect  to 
find  the  Connoquenessing  Sandstones,  but  that  group  is 
here  entirely  represented  by  slate.  The  small  coal  seam 
occurring  about  40  feet  above  the  Sharon  Coal  bed  is  quite 
persistent  but  is  always  too  thin  to  mine.  It  lies  too  low 
to  be  identified  with  the  Quakertown  Coal  of  Report  QQ, 
and  should  properly  be  classed  with  the  Sharon  bed,  in  a 
group  that  could  with  propriety  be  called  the  Sharon  Group. 

Beneath  the  main  coal  bed  occurs  a  variable  sandrock 
consisting  of  two  layers  ;  an  upper  flaggy  stratum  with  a 
harder  and  more  massive  rock  beneath  it,  and  forty  feet 
below  this  is  the  “ ferriferous  sandstone.”  These  rocks 
are  undoubtedly  identical  with  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the 
Ohio  Conglomerate. 

Quarry  near  Bethel.  ( Cuyahoga  shale.) 

Drift, . 10'  0" 

895'  Shaly  light  colored  Sandstone,  V  0" 

Dark  shale, . O'  9" 

Shaly  Sandstone,  . -  .  O'  6" 

Fine  grained  white  Sandstone, 

with  concretions, . VO" 

Grey  fissile  slate, . O'  4" 

Flaggy  Sandstone, . 0'  6" 

Drab  colored  shale, . V  3" 

Conglomerate  of  red  shale,  black 
slate  and  bituminous  shale, 
with  iron  concretions,  ...  0'  6" 

889'  Quarry  of  bluish  grey  flag,  .  .  5'  0" 

At  an  elevation  of  889  feet,  and  26  feet  beneath  the  base 
of  the  “  ferriferous  sandstone,”  a  quarry  has  been  opened 
on  a  bed  of  beautiful  fine  grained  flagstone  of  alight  bluish 
grey  color.  Five  feet  only  of  it  are  exposed  above  water 


SHENANGO  VALLEY. 


Y.  215 


level.  It  is  overlaid  by  a  very  peculiar  alternation  of  sand¬ 
stone,  slate  and  shale,  which  is  shown  on  an  enlarged  scale 
by  Fig.  146. 

A  good  section  of  the  rocks  overlying  the  Block  Coal  was 
obtained  at  the  Pacific  Slope  near  Sharon.  The  country  is 
not  high  enough  to  contain  the  Upper  Connoquenessing 
Sandstone  except  in  the  highest  summits,  and  these  are  so 
smoothly  eroded  that  they  present  no  exposures.  The 
Lower  Connoquenessing  Sandstone  was  passed  through  by 
the  slope,  and  consists  of  two  members.  The  upper  one 
of  these  has  been  opened  and  quarried  at  several  places, 
and  yields  good  building  stone. 

The  measurements  shown  in  Fig.  147  were  made  in  the 


i j 
2 


V.  147 


air  shaft  of  this  colliery. 

Section  in  Pacific  Slope. 

Drift, — on  surface. 

Bluish  gray  slate, . 6  ' 

Thin  bedded  Sandstone, . 12  ' 

Black  Slate, 

Compact  Sandstone,  . 14 

Block  Coal, . 3 

Blue  Slate, . 3  ' 

Sandstone, . 3  ' 

Fireclay — thickness  unknown. 

The  three  foot  Sandstone  underlying  the  coal  may  be  the 
only  representative  of  the  massive  twenty-five  foot  rock  at 
Bethel,  but  it  is  probable  that  beneath  the  fireclay  in  the 
sump,  there  is  another  bed  of  sandrock. 


F.  C 


Pip  of  the  Sliaron  Block  Coal . 

At  Bethel  the  coal  is  1020  feet  above  ocean  level,  at  Mid¬ 
dlesex  950  feet,  and  at  Sharon  (Brookfield  Bank)  1067  feet. 
From  this  we  obtain  : 

1020' —  950'=  70/  —  dip  from  Bethel  to  Middlesex. 

1067' —  950' =  117'  =  “  “  Sharon  to  Middlesex. 

1067' — 1020'=  47'=  u  “  Sharon  to  Bethel. 

The  distances  are  respectively  about  3-J-,  6,  and  4-J  miles. 
Tabulating  these  data,  and  adding  the  courses 


216  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


70' -$-3^=20'  per  mile  S.  69°  W.  (A.) 

117A-6  —  19J'  per  mile  S.  20°  E.  (B.) 

47/-v-4f=10/  per  mile  S.  45°  E.  (C.) 

15'  per  mile  S.  20°  E.  Bethel  to  Love  Farm.  (E.) 
Greatest  dip  27'  per  mile  S.  23°  W.  (D.) 

The  line  of  true  (greatest)  dip  was  first  calculated  from 
(A)  and  (B)'*  then  from  (B)  and  (C)  and  finally  from  (A) 
and  (E),  in  each  case  giving  the  same  result,  showing 
that  over  this  area  the  coal  lies  in  a  plane,  for  were  it  a 
warped  surface,  these  results  would  vary. 


S liar  on  Bloclz  Coal. 

The  character  of  this  coal  has  already  been  well  described 
by  Dr.  J.  S.  Newberry,  in  the  Ohio  reports.  In  the  vicin¬ 
ity  of  Sharon  and  Bethel  it  is  an  excellent  non-pyritous, 
compact  non-caking  coal,  with  usually  a  low  percentage  of 
ash,  which  however  is  sometimes  increased  by  the  presence 
of  very  thin  slaty  laminae.  The  bed  occasionally  contains 
much  mineral  charcoal. 

Both  the  roof  and  floor  are  very  changeable.  This  is  well 
seen  in  the  Brookfield  Bank  at  Sharon,  where  the  coal  is 
sometimes  held  between  two  conglomeratic  beds  of  sand¬ 
stone,  again  has  a  slate  roof  and  floor,  with  at  times  a  fire¬ 
clay  floor  which  is  frequently  replaced  by  conglomerate. 
The  overlying  sandstone  is  about  twenty-five  feet  thick,  and 

*(In  the  above  calculations  the  following  formulae  were  used  for  calculat¬ 
ing  the  direction  of  the  line  of  greatest  dip : 

cos.  y  D 11 

tan.  X  = - 

sin  y  D  sin  y 

Where,  X  •=  angle  of  required  line  with  greatest  given  rate, 
y  =  angle  of  difference  between  two  given  courses. 

D  =  greatest  dip. 

D'  =  greater  given  rate  of  dip. 

D"  =  lesser  given  rate  of  dip. 

To  find  the  greatest  rate,  when  course  is  known  : 

D'  D" 

I)  = - or  D  = - 

cos.  X  cos  (X-fy) 

For  a  graphic  method  see  preface. 


SIIENANGO  VALLEY. 


Y.  217 


is  generally  a  hard  and  massive  rock.  Beneath  the  bed  are 


usually  found : 

Fireclay, . O'  to  8' 

Conglomerate,  . 2'  to  3' 

Sandstone,  flaggy,  .  10' 


Sandstone,  hard — thickness  unknown. 

This  sandrock  is  the  upper  part  of  the  Ohio  Conglomer¬ 
ate,  which  in  Geauga  county  (Ohio)  attains  a  thickness  of 
175  feet  of  solid  conglomerate  and  conglomeratic  sand¬ 
stone.  The  coal  is  subject  to  quite  sudden  fluctuations  in 
thickness,  often  being  entirely  “ pinched  out”  or  fining 
down  to  a  knife  edge.  It  is  thickest  when  there  is  least 
fireclay  beneath  it,  and  thinnest  on  the  “ hills”  or  where 
there  is  most  fireclay.  This  is  explainable  by  the  theory 
that  the  bed  was  a  swamp  deposit  of  partly  drifted  bitumi¬ 
nous  matter.  Some  of  the  Ohio  colliery  maps  show  very 
prettily  the  irregularities  of  these  ancient  marshes. 

Throughout  the  Sharon  coal  region  as  well  as  in  many 
other  localities,  the  Connoquenessing  sandstones  are  sub¬ 
ject  to  sudden  and  radical  changes  both  in  lithology  and 
thickness.  They  are  usually  soft,  rather  friable,  fine-grained 
sandstones  of  nearly  uniform  texture,  and  seldom  show 
any  signs  of  approaching  a  conglomeratic  type.  In  some 
instances  the  interval  from  the  Mercer  Group  to  the  Sharon 
Coal  is  destitute  of  any  sandrock,  but  is  at  times — as  in 
the  Mahoning  Valley,  where  over  150  feet  of  sandstone  is 
passed  through  by  some  shafts  on  the  Block  coal  seam — 
filled  by  hard  sandstones  with  very  thin  parting  layers  of 
slate  or  shale. 

This  irregularity  can  be  accounted  for  by  supposing — 

1st.  A  powerful  current  transporting  pebbles  and  sand¬ 
stone  during  the  deposition  of  the  Ohio  Conglomerate. 

2d.  A  period  of  elevation  during  which  the  Block  Coal 
was  formed,  or  the  filling  up  of  the  shallow  water  with 
gravel  and  sand  until  there  was  marsh  land  for  the  growth 
of  vegetation  at  the  level  of  the  water. 

3d.  A  recurrence  of  the  first  current  with  diminished 
strength,  transporting  finer  materials,  and  shifting  con¬ 
stantly  its  position  by  reason  of  the  variations  in  elevation 


218  V. 


EEPOET  OF  PEOGEESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


which  were  taking  place  during  the  continental  submergence 
that  evidently  occurred  after  the  formation  of  the  Sharon 
Coal  bed. 

4th.  A  period  of  oscillation, — or  a  refilling  of  the  water 
basin  to  its  water  surface, — in  which  the  Mercer  Group  of 
coals  and  limestones  was  deposited  ;  and 

5th.  Conditions  somewhat  similar  to  the  Ohio  Conglom¬ 
erate  period,  resulting  in  the  production  of  that  widely 
spread  sandrock  and  conglomerate  which  we  know  under 
the  names  of  Homewood  Sandstone,  Tionesta  Sandstone, 
Piedmont  Sandstone,  “  Sixty-foot  Rock,”  of  the  Butler  oil 
wells,  etc.,  etc. 

The  section  shown  by  Fig.  148  was  compiled  by  Mr.  John 
F.  Carll,  from  surface  exposures  on  the  road  leading  from 
Sharon  west  towards  Brookfield.  The  elevations  are  baro¬ 
metric. 


Sharon  Section . 

Top  of  Hill, .  1085' 

Concealed,  . . 20'  to  1065' 

Blue  coal  shales,  and  smut,  (Sha¬ 
ron  Coal,) . 10'  to  1055' 

Sandstone ;  thin,  yellow,  false- 

bedded,  . 10'  to  1045' 

Clay  shale,  iron  concretions,  dark,  5'  to  1040' 

Coarse,  yellow,  and  congc.  sand¬ 
stone,  with  carboniferous  plants,  10'  to  1030' 
Blue  iron-stained  pebbly  coal 

shales, . 10'  to  1020' 

Coarse,  slialy,  irregularly- 
bedded  sandstone,  .  .  5' 

Coarse,  grey,  more  mas¬ 
sive  sandstone,  .  .  .  .  3' 

Conglomerate  in  irregular 

layers, . 2' 

Blue  sandy  shales,  kidney  ore,  .  .  10'  to  1000' 

Fucoidal  sandy  shale,  . 65'  to  935' 

Concealed, . 65'  to  870' 

Sandstone  and  shale  to  river,  opp. 

Furnace, . 25'  to  845' 


10' 


to  1015' 
to  1012' 
to  1010' 


V.  148 


SIIENAIS'GO  VALLEY. 


y.  219 


The  above  shows  a  thickness  of  45  feet  for  the  Sharon 
Conglomerate.  The  sandrock  noted  at  the  base  of  the  sec¬ 
tion  is  well  exposed  in  R.  R.  cuttings  south  of  Sharpsville, 
where  its  top  lies  50  feet  above  stream  level. 

The  Sharon  Well  commenced  to  drill  near  the  top  of  this 
rock,  or  about  50  feet  above  river  level ;  but  as  much  drift 
was  passed  through  before  reaching  bed-rock,  it  is  not  shown 
in  the  following,  which  is  said  to  be  a  correct  record  of  the 
strata  passed  through. 


Sharon  Well.  Drilled  in  1877. 


Situated  near  Sharon  Furnace,  one  mile  and  a  half  north 
by  east  from  Sharon.  Authority,  Mr.  Hall,  of  the  Sharon 
Furnace  Company. 

Well  mouth  is  about  50  feet  above  Sharon  and  about  900 
feet  above  ocean  level,  and  160  feet,  more  or  less  below  the 
Sharon  Block  Coal,  which  would  place  it  about  460  feet  be¬ 
neath  the  top  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone. 
i  Clay  and  gravel,  ) 

Drift,  -j  Coarse  gravel,  >  Drive  pipe,  .  .  .  100'  to  100' 
( Boulders,  ) 


Shale,  .  85'  to  185' 

Sandstone,  sharp  white, . .  75'  to  260' 

Shales,  light  blue, — Red  Rock  near  bottom,  .  305'  to  565' 

Sandstone,  fine  grey, .  30'  to  595' 

Shales,  blue,  grey,  and  brown,  with  thin  layers 

of  fine  grit, — no  oil  or  gas, . .  .  1005'  to  1600' 

Cased  at  280  feet.  Fresh  water  at  175'  and  280'.  Gas  at 
485',  and  oil  show  of  heavy  oil  with  gas  in  a  thin  stray  sand 
(probably  a  £  £  shell  ” )  at  618  feet.  After  passing  this  stratum 
bark  brownish  shales  were  encountered,  which  gradually 
became  darker  with  only  a  slight  brownish  tinge  and  finally 
merged  into  dark  blue  shale,  which  was  the  predominating 
color  from  that  point  to  the  bottom  of  the  well.  That  the 
bottom  of  the  well  is  undoubtedly  in  the  Erie  Shales  or  at 
any  rate  in  the  Erie  surface  rocks  is  proven  both  by  the 
character  of  the  drillings  and  by  the  depth  of  the  well. 


Lake  Erie  is  573  above  ocean  level.  Assuming  an  hori- 


220  V. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


zon  in  the  measures  at  700  feet  above  ocean  level  (or  127 
above  the  lake)  and  tracing  it  to  Sharon  on  an  assumed  line 
of  dip  we  find  it  in  the  well  at  a  depth  of  1400  feet,  or  200 
feet  above  its  bottom.  The  distance  is  about  60  miles. 
A  dip  of  20  feet  per  mile  would  result  in  a  fall  of  1200  feet. 
This  gives  (700'  above  ocean  —  1200  feet)  500  feet  below 
ocean  level.  The  Sharon  well  starts  at  900  feet  above  sea 
level,  and  900  feet-j-500—1400  feet. 


Chapter  II. 

The  Conglomerate  Series  {No.  XII )  or  Bearer  Hirer 

Series.  The  Berea  Grit. 

It  has  always  been  a  question :  Wliat  in  Western  Penn¬ 
sylvania  corresponds  to,  represents  to,  or  is  the  equivalent 
of  the  Pottsville  Conglomerate  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
regions  of  the  State  % 

In  and  surrounding  the  Anthracite  Coal  Basins  this  rock 
is  a  massive  conglomerate,  composed  chiefly  of  quartz  peb¬ 
bles  ranging  from  the  size  of  an  ostrich  egg  down  to  fine 
sand ;  is  extremely  hard,  though  sometimes  of  friable  na¬ 
ture  ;  and  varies  in  thickness  from  1000  feet  at  Pottsville 
to  200  feet  at  Wilkes-barre. 

It  is  occasionally  broken  up  into  several  bands  by  layers 
of  slate  which  at  times  carry  workable  coal  beds.  The 
characteristic  valley- forming  soft  Mauch  Chunk  Red  Shale 
(Umbral)  beneath  it  is  always  a  great  formation.  The  Pro¬ 
ductive  Coal  Measures  overlying  it  afford  a  horizon  by 
which  its  top  may  be  determined.  But  although  the  Lower 
Productive  Coal  Measures  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  are 
undoubtedly  synchronous  with  the  lower  anthracite  beds, 
the  wide  geographical  space  of  eroded  country  between  the 
two  coal  regions  has  heretofore  rendered  a  good  identifica¬ 
tion  of  individual  beds  impossible,  except  perhaps  in  the 
case  of  the  isolated  coal  fields  of  W y oming  and  Lycoming 
counties. 

The  Conglomerate  along  the  face  of  the  Allegheny  Mount¬ 
ain  ranges  from  100  to  250  feet  in  thickness,  and  is  often 
composed  of  two  or  more  sandrocks  parted  by  beds  of 
shale,  which  seldom  contain  any  coal  bed  of  workable 
size.  Beneath  it  are  the  red  shales  of  XI  from  100  to 
275  feet  thick  ;  and  beneath  these  lie  the  Pocono  Sand- 

(221) 


222  Y. 


REPOET  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


stones  of  No.  X.  Above  it  lie  the  Lower  Productive  Coal 
Measures.  It  has  been  shown  by  Mr.  Platt  (Reports  H, 
HH,  HHH)  that  the  latter  may  be  traced  continuously  from 
the  mountains  westward  to  the  Clarion  county  line,  with 
the  lowest  coal  (Bed  A,  Brookville  bed)  always  a  few 
feet  above  the  upper  member  of  the  Conglomerate.  This 
coal  is  traced  through  Butler  into  Beaver  and  Lawrence 
counties  and  is  always  found  at  the  same  horizon,  viz :  on, 
or  a  few  feet  above  the  top  rock  of  the  Conglomerate  Series, 
there  known  by  such  local  names  as  Homewood  Sandstone, 
(Upper)  Beaver  Conglomerate  and  Tionesta  Sandstone;  and 
it  is  this  top  rock  which  was  called  No.  XII  (or  the  Con¬ 
glomerate)  by  the  geologists  of  the  First  Survey ;  a  name 
occasionally  still  applied  to  it. 

In  my  forthcoming  report  on  Clinton  county  and  its  Sub- 
carboniferous  rocks  I  will  show  by  a  series  of  vertical  sec¬ 
tions  the  variations  in  No.  XII  from  Lock  Haven  westward 
and  northward,  as  well  as  the  correlative  changes  in  the 
Mauch  Chunk  Red  Shale  (XI)  Pocono  (X)  and  Red  Catskill 
(IX)  strata,  and  will  give  data  for  demonstrating  that 
throughout  the  northern,  central  and  western  portions  of 
the  State  the  Conglomerate  is  not  a  single  stratum,  but 
always  a  formation  with  two,  three,  four  or  more  members. 

The  Homewood  Sandstone  underlying,  on  the  Beaver  and 
Shenango  Rivers,  the  Brookville  Coal  (Bed  A)  is  a  hard  mas¬ 
sive  sandstone  forming  numerous  cliffs  and  bold  terraces  ; 
so  that  even  in  the  absence  of  any  guiding  horizon  it  can 
often  be  recognized  by  its  lithology  alone ;  and  beneath  it 
is  a  well  developed  group  of  coal  beds,  with  two  beds  of 
limestone,* — the  Mercer  Group.  This  Homewood  Sand¬ 
stone  has  always  been  considered  the  equivalent  of  No. 
XII,  in  whole,  or  in  part.  If  in  whole,  then  the  Mercer 
Coals  would  be  subconglomerate,  and  they  have  in  fact  been 
so  described,  and  their  limestones  considered  as  the  equiva¬ 
lent  of  the  Limestone  of  XI.  If  in  part,  then  we  must  look 
for  sandstone  formations  under  the  Mercer  group,  to  make 

*  These  are  probably  the  two  Zoar  Limestones  of  the  Hocking  Valley  report, 
Geology  of  Ohio,  Vol.  III. 


y.  223 


CONGLOMERATE,  NO.  XII. 

out  the  rest  of  No.  XII.  Such  sandstones  exist,  as  fol¬ 
lows  : — 

The  Connoquenessing  Sandstone  comes  next  below  the 
Mercer  Group  ;  and  it  is  divided  by  Mr.  White  into  an 
Upper  and  a  Lower  Connoquenessing  Sandstone  ;  but  it 
could  be  readily  sub-divided  into  Upper,  Middle,  and  Lower ; 
or  even  into  four  divisions.  As  these  rocks  are  very  vari¬ 
able  in  thickness  and  character,  being  often  nearly  or 
or  wholly  replaced  by  shale  and  slate,  they  may  be  called 
the  Connoquenessing  Sandstone  Group. 

Although  each  stratum  of  this  group  is  quite  variable 
in  hardness  and  in  the  size  of  its  sand  grains,  and  subject 
to  sudden  thickening  or  thinning, — sometimes  entirely  dis¬ 
appearing, — the  total  thickness  of  the  mass  remains  nearly 
constant ;  for  a  change  in  any  of  its  members  is  sure  to  be 
compensated  by  an  opposite  variation  in  the  underlying  or 
overlying  slate  or  shale.  Its  total  thickness  is  from  140  to 
180  feet,  being  greatest  where  there  is  the  least  thickness  of 
the  Mercer  group. 

Is  this  then  the  bottom  of  XII  ?  Or  are  there  still  lower 
conglomerates  or  sandstones  which  ought  to  be  included  in 

XII? 

In  other  words  is  the  celebrated  Sharon  Block  Coal, — 
which  constitutes  with  its  rider  coal  bed  and  shales  the  next 
group  downwards — a  conglomerate  coal  ?  Or  must  also 

this  group  be  considered  as  in  the  Conglomerate,  whether 
far  or  near  above  its  base  ?  * 

There  are  in  fact  three  massive  Sandstone  formations  un¬ 
derneath  and  within  200  feet  of  the  Sharon  Coal  bed.  They 
are  called  1.  the  Sharon  Conglomerate  ;  2.  the  Sharon  Upper 
Sandstone ;  3.  the  Sharon  Lower  Sandstone. 

1.  The  Sharon  Conglomerate,  with  a  maximum  thickness 
of  about  40  feet,  is  very  variable,  sometimes  absent  or  else 
so  shaly  as  not.  to  be  noticeable. 

This  undoubtedly  represents  either  the  top  part  of  the 

*Tlie  Sharon  Block  coal  has  its  principal  development  in  the  State  of  Ohio 
and  is  there  recognized  as  the  lowest  productive  bed  of  the  Coal  Measures. 
The  natural  mistake  was  therefore  made  of  identifying  it  with  Bed  A  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  lying  more  than  200  feet  above  it,  geologically. 


224  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  II.  M.  CHANCE. 


Ohio  conglomerate  or  the  whole  of  it.  It  contains  coal- 
measnre  fossils,  is  a  coal  measure  rock,  and  therefore 
would  seem  to  be  another  member  of  No.  XII. 

The  Shales  beneath  it,  however,  hold  Waverlv  fossils  ; 
and  if  palaeontological  evidence  was  of  itself  sufficient  to 
decide  the  question,  the  line  would  be  drawn  here,  and  we 
should  say  that  these  shales  lie  underneath  No.  XII ;  and 
the  question  would  then  arise  as  to  what  these  shales  were, 
if  not  No.  XII. 

Would  they  be  No.  XI  ?  If  so,  then  the  Maucli  Chunk 
Red  Shale  formation  No.  XI  does  not  thin  out  to  nothing 
in  Elk  county,  but  continues  on  to  and  into  the  State  of  Ohio. 

But  if  these  shales  be  not  No.  XI,  then  should  they  be 
No.  X,  Pocono? 

Another  question  is  :  Are  they  Cuyahoga  shales  ? 

2.  The  Sharon  Upper  Sandstone  underlying  the  above 
shales  is  quarried  near  Jamestown  ;  holds  iron  balls  and 
Waverly  shells,  but  also  many  huge  lepidodendra . 

Is  this  another  and  still  lower  member  of  No.  XII  ? 
Judging  by  the  shells,  no.  Judging  by  the  plants,  yes. 

Another  shale  formation  and  much  larger  than  the  last 
underlies  this  Sharon  Upper  Sandstone,  which  is  only  15  or 
20  feet  thick  where  exhibited  and  may  be  as  variable  else¬ 
where  as  all  the  rest  of  the  sandy  deposits  of  this  region. 

3.  The  Sharon  Lower  Sandstone  is  more  massive  and 
thicker  than  the  Upper.  Have  we  now  at  last  reached  the 
base  of  No.  XII?  Beneath  it  lies  a  very  thick  formation 
of  shales,  measuring  in  one  place  135  feet. 

Whatever  the  shales  above  may  be,  these  f  undamental 
shales*  are  surely  the  main  body  of  the  Cuyahoga  formation 
of  Ohio  ;  and  the  next  succeeding  thick  and  massive  Sand- 
rock  at  its  base  must  be  of  course  the  Berea  Grit,  the  Oil 
rock  at  Mecca,  or  Venango  Third  Mountain  Sand. 

It  is  then  possible  to  state  the  thickness  of  No.  XII  in 
the  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania  in  at  least  two  ways, 
thus : 

*Aswe  have  a  Beaver  Conglomerate  Group  a  Venango  Oil  Sand  Group, 
a  Warren  Oil  Group  and  a  Bradford  Oil  Group,  I  propose  for  the  Shales  above 
and  below  the  Berea  Grit  the  term  Crawford  Shale  Group,  as  they  make  the 
broad  belt  of  lake  and  swamp  land  across  that  county.  J.  P.  L. 


CONGLOMEKATE,  NO.  XII. 


y.  225 . 


y 


No.  XII. 

265'  I 


170' 


No.  XII 3 
435' 


75' 


Homewood  Sandstone,  .  .  30' 

Mercer  group,  .  .  .  30' 

Connoquenessing  group,  .  155' 

Sharon  group,  ...  10' 

Sharon  Conglomerate,  (Ohio 
Conglomerate,  )  ....  40' 

Sharon  Upper  shales,  30' 

Sharon  Upper  Sandstone,  .  15' 

Sharon  Middle  shales,  75' 

Sharon  Lower  Sandstone,  .  50' 

Crawford  Upper  (Cuyahoga)  shales, . .135 

Berea  Grit,  (Third  Mtn.  Sand  of  oil  men.  Carll,) 

Crawford  Lower  (Bedford  red)  shales. 

The  first  view  represented  in  the  above  schedule  will  make 
No.  XII  consist  only  of  the  Homewood,  Connoquenessing 
and  Sharon  Conglomerates,  with  the  Mercer  coal  and  lime¬ 
stone  group  and  other  included  intervals  sometimes  exhib¬ 
iting  streaks  of  coal,  the  whole  measuring  say  265  feet. 

In  this  view  of  the  case  the  Sharon  coal  and  shales  must 
be  considered  interconglomerate. 

The  second  view  will  include  in  No.  XII  not  only  the 
Homewood,  Connoquenessing  and  Sharon  Conglomerates, 
but  also  the  Sharon  Upper  and  Lower  Sandstones,  with  an 
intermediate  mass  of  shales,  in  all  170'  thick,  making  No. 
Xn  altogether  about  435'  thick. 


This  latter  view  is  taken  by  Mr.  Carll,  who  recognizes  in 
the  Sharon  Upper  and  Lower  sandstones  of  Mercer  county 
the  representatives  of  the  First  and  Second  Mountain  Sand- 
rocks  of  the  Oil  region,  as  his  numerous  wed  sections 
show ;  the  Second  Mountain  sand  being  thin  and  variable 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  Butler  oil  region,  almost  invisi¬ 
ble  in  the  southern  part  of  it,  and  a  massive  conglomerate 
(Garland)  in  the  Venango  oil  region,  as  explained  in  his 
report. 

For  a  description  of  the  Conglomerate  and  allied  rocks 
as  they  appear  in  Northern  Butler  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  chapters  on  the  townships. 

In  Geauga  county  Ohio,  the  Conglomerate  (below  the 
Sharon  Coal)  is  said  to  be  175  feet  thick.  This  agrees  quite 


15  V. 


226  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


well  with  its  thickness  in  Crawford  and  Yenango  counties 
in  Pennsylvania.  Beneath  it  are  Cuyahoga  shales  150  to 
200  feet  thick,  lying  upon  the  Berea  Grit,  below  which  occur 
the  Bedford  shales,  which  are  often  Red  Shales. 

It  would  then  follow,  as  asserted  by  Mr.  Carll,  that  the 
Third  Mountain  sand  which  lies  above  the  Bed  Bock  of 
Franklin,  Beno,  Scrubgrass,  Wolf  Creek,  New  Castle,  etc., 
is  the  Berea  Grit ;  and  that  the  Bed  Bocks  are  the  equiva¬ 
lents  of  the  Bedford  Shales  of  Ohio. 

This  identification  is  more  readily  understood  by  refer¬ 
ence  to  Plate  YII  of  well  records.  The  75  foot  rock  found 
in  the  Sharon  well,  which  I  have  no  doubt  is  the  same  with 
the  78  foot  rock  of  New  Castle,  the  “Big  Bock”  of  the 
Beaver  Falls  wells,  and  the  Third  Mountain  Sand  of  the 
Yenango  Oil  District,  is  then  identical  with  the  Berea  Grit. 
Mr.  Carll  adduces  additional  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  con 
elusion  by  calculating  the  position  of  the  Mecca  (Ohio)  oil 
rock  (Berea  Grit)  at  Sharon,  from  established  rates  of  dip 
in  Trumbull  county  0.  and  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  by  which 
means  he  has  found  that  the  place  at  which  this  rock  should 
be  found  at  Sharon,  agrees  almost- exactly  with  the  position 
of  the  75  foot  rock  pierced  in  the  well. 

*  j  •  •  •  •  r  ''  *  •  '  ‘  '  ’  ■  • 

Descr  iption  of  Plate  YII  of  Oil  Well  Records. 

,T-  John  Smith  [Muddy  Creek )  Well  Record.  Fig.  Ilf. 

This  well  is  situated  in  the  south-west  corner  of  Bradv 
township,  Butler  county,  and  exhibits  a  structure  typical 
of  the  Oil  Creek  and  Bullion  stratification,  showing  the  base 
of  No.  XII  at  the  bottom  of  the  100  foot  sandrock,  an  in¬ 
terval  of  soft  measures  beneath  it  342  feet  thick,  contain¬ 
ing  two  sandy  bands  which  might  be  referred  to  the  Con¬ 
glomerate  series,  but  which  are  evidently  sandy  layers  of 
the  Cuyahoga  Shale,  (upper  part  of  No.  X,)  similar  to  the 
loWer  sandrock  at  Sharon  and  those  of  the  Butler  oil  dis¬ 
trict,  The  Third  Mountain  Sand  or  Berea  Grit  26  feet  thick 
next  succeeds,  and  below  it  are  shales  underlaid  by  the 
Bedford  Bed  Bock.  The  Oil  Sand  Group,  (Lower  Pocono, 
X.  (See  Beport  YY,)  shows  a  good  development,  with  all 


BEREA  GRIT. 


Y.  227 


three  of  its  principal  members  present,  the  second  and  third 
of  which  are  double. 

Wolf  Creek  Well.  Fig.  lift. 

This  is  eight  or  nine  miles  north  by  west  from  the  John 
Smith  well,  and  exhibits  the  same  succession  down  to  the 
oil  sand  group.  Though  the  Homewood  Sandstone  is  not 
noted  in  the  record,  it  is  present  in  this  vicinity,  but  has 
been  overlooked  by  the  drillers.  The  Berea  Grit  is  quite 
thick  and  lies  immediately  upon  the  Red  Rock,  which  is 
somewhat  higher  than  in  the  Smith  well.  This  fact  is  cor¬ 
roborative  of  the  conclusion  which  I  think  I  have  reached 
in  Report  YY  as  to  the  Red-rocks,  that  going  north-west 
and  west  from  the  best  development  of  Red  Catskill,  the 
horizon  of  deposition  of  rocks  red  in  color  constantly  rises, 
so  that  the  Red  Catskill  of  the  east  becomes  Lower  Pocono 
(X)  in  the  west,  or  in  other  words  the  former  disappears, 
and  the  red  rocks  are  found  in  the  lower  half  of  the  Pocono. 

In  this  well  the  Oil  Sand  group  contains  no  Second  Sand, 
being  similar  to  the  Raymilton  and  Church  Run  type  of 
drillings.  '  A  '  ; 

Sharon  Well.  Fig.  150. 

This  starts  near  the  top  of  the  Sharon  lower  sandstone 
which  has  been  called  by  some  the  Berea  Grit,  but  which 
has  already  been  proven  to  be  but  a  sandy  part  of  the 
Cuyahoga  of  which  there  is  150  feet  more  at  Sharon  than  on 
the  Cuyahoga  in  Ohio.  The  Mecca  oil  rock  (Berea  Grit) 
seems  to  have  been  struck  at  a  depth  of  185  feet  in  the  well, 
but  no  red  rock  is  noted  under  it. 

In  the  305  foot  interval,  the  record  says  “red  bands  near 
the  bottom.”  It  is  possible  that  they  have  not  been  correctly 
recorded  by  the  drillers,  but  as  these  red  bands  both  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  occur  only  over  certain  areas  and 
are  replaced  by  grey  shales  in  many  localities,  their  absence 
here  is  not  conclusive. 

The  oil  group  is  probably  cut  out  by  the  Chemung  floor, 
but  may  be  represented  by  the  30  foot  sand  rock. 


228  Y. 


REPORT  OF  PROGRESS.  H.  M.  CHANCE. 


New  Castle  Well.  Fig.  151. 

This  well  starts  at  the  Sharon  Coal  horizon  but  as  143  feet 
of  drive  pipe  was  used  before  reaching  rock  bottom,  the 
Sharon  Conglomerate  is  not  shown  in  the  record.  Two 
sandy  layers  were  encountered  in  the  Cuyahoga  Shale  before 
reaching  the  Berea  Grit  which  is  here  78  feet  thick  and  un¬ 
derlain  at  a  short  distance  by  the  big  Fed  Fock  of  the 
Bedford  Shales.  The  sands  noted  below  the  latter  look 
like  grey  Chemung  sands,  and  were  only  noticed  because 
the  drillers  were  very  closely  watching  for  the  oil  sand 
group. 

The  thin  three  foot  red  band  may  be  one  of  the  Che¬ 
mung  red  bands  so  common  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State.  When  these  red  beds  are  thick  the  red  color  is  very 
indistinct,  being  usually  of  a  dark  purple  rather  than  red, 
but  when  thin  they  are  often  quite  brilliant. 


The  Ohio  Section.  Fig.  15%. 

This  needs  no  commentary.  It  is  simply  a  compilation 
from  the  reports  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Ohio,  and 
explains  itself. 


INDEX  TO  REPORT  Y. 


Adams  township,  .  .  . 

Adams  &  Friday  well, 

Agnew  (E.  I.), . 77 

Allegheny,  Butler  Co.,  .  3,55,142,158 
Allegheny  and  Beaver 

River  Divide, . 83 , 105 

Allegheny  County,  .  .  .  13,24,34,136 
Allegheny  Mountains,  ....  19,221 

Allegheny, .  4 

River,  5,6,9,16,117,121,136,143,148 

at  Brady’s  Bend, . 10 

at  Scrubgrass, . 11 

Allegheny  Township, . 24 

(§76), .  125,136,149,152,159 

Allegheny  Valley,  . . 11 

Alien  (Mrs.  Margaret), . 95 

Ailen  (Robt.),  well  and  coal,  43,45,47 

Anderson,  well, . ».  161 

Angel  gas  well, . 163,164 

Angelica, . 90 

Annandale, . 3,6,103,131,154 

Annesville,  . . 5,105 

Anticlinals  and  synclinals,  §7,  9,10,28 

Argyie  well, .  84 , 115 , 156 , 160 

Armor  well, . 165 

Armstead  well, . 158 

Armstrong, . 15 

County,  .  .  .  17,55,79,87,114,141,152 

line . 122 

Armstrong  Run  (Armstrong  Co.),  151 

Arrowsmith  well, . 159 

Badger  (J.&T.), . 73 

Badger  banks, . 76 

Baily  (Mr.),  Baily  farm,  .  .  .  38,  41 
Baker  (Mr.);  Baker’s  Bank,  .  .  129, 


Page. 

Banks’  (M.)  Farm, . 160 

Baptist  Sunday  School, . 82 

Barkley  (Wm.), . 40 

Barnes’  Bank, . 126,128 

Barnhart  farm, . 91;  162,163 

Barnhardt  (*D.)  (F.)  (J.),  ....  163 

Barren  Measures,  . 35 

Bear  Creek, . 6,  10, 

33,34, 83 , 93 , 114 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 126 , 136 

South  branch, . 115 

North  branch, . 114,118,123 

Valley, . 93,122 

old  furnace  on, . 117 

Beattie’s  Bank  (Mercer  Coal),  .  .  193 

Beaver, . 55 

County,  12,15,19,24,141,142, 185 , 222 

Beaver  Falls  well, . 226 

Beaver  River, . 4,7,11, 

12 , 143 , 146 ,148,188, 197 , 198 , 200 , 201 

Beaver  River  District, .  2 

Beaver  River  Series, . 117 

Beaver  River  Valley,  .  .  .  31,148,185 

Bennett  (E.)  well, . 159,167 

Berger  (Brown,  Reis  &), . 204 

Bethel  Block  Coal, . 211 

Bethel;  section,  .  .  .213,214,215,216 

Big  Bear  (’reek, . 119 

Big  Medicine  well, . 162 

Big  Run, . 7,204 

Billy  Patterson  well, . 159 

Bingham  (Mr.)  farm,  ....  95,165 

Birch  (David),  . . 51 

Black  (Mr.  Robt.),  ....  103,104,131 

Black  (Mr.  R.  L.), . 132 

Black  farm,  . 159 

Black  Maria  well,  ........  164 

Black’s  Run, . 63,67 


193,195,197 
160 

(  229  ) 


I.  Geographical  and  Personal 

Page. 

1,2 
164 


Banks  &  Gaily, 


230  V. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Page. 

Blaney  (J.)  Farm, . 160 

Blue  Factory,  . 164 

Bly  &  Rowley  well, . 160 

Bonanza  well, . 166 

Book  (John), . 61 

Booth  well, . 169 

Boss  well,  _  .  ...  ...  .  .  ,462 

Bott  Bros.  wjbIJ',  .  .  .  .  163 

Bottom  Lands, .  8 

Boyd’s  Hill  well,  Pittsburgh,  .  19,141 

Boyd  farm, . 165 

Boy^stown, . 53,  84 

Boyer,  old, . 163 

Boyle  well, . 162 

Bradford  Oil  field,  .  Y  ,.  .  ’.  154 

Brady  township, .  1,2,59,226 

Brady’s,  ......  j  .....  .  9 

Bend,  .  ,  11,15,17,19,20.79,143,156 
anticlinal  and  synclinal,  9,10,12,  57 

rocks,  ;  20 

Iron  Company, . 24 , 163 

Brady  township, . 1,5,7, 

8,9,15,20,23,25,59,  (§50)  ,71,77,  94 

Brawley  well, . 159 

Brawley  &  Overy  well, . 161 

Bronson  &  Harrington  well,  .  .  .  165 
Bronson  (Emerson  &),  .  ....  .132 

Brookfield  banks,  . 215 

Sharon  coal,  . . 216,218 

Brown  (Alexander),  .  .  .  .  126,130 

Brown  ( J.  C„  heirs)  farm,  .  .  158,162 
Brown  (William)  farm,  .  .  .  126,162 

Brown  &  Riss  well, . .  .  164 

Brown  (Reis  &  Berger), . 204 

Brownson  (Marcus), . 163 

Bryan  (Mr.  J.  S.),  .  .  .  .73,102,103 

Buena  Vista,  .  . . 90,  91 

Buffalo  township,  .......  1,  2 

Buffalo  creek,  .  .6,35,55,57,83,91,143 

Buffalo  township, .  9 

Bulger  well,  . . 165 

Bulger  axis  of  Beaver  co.,  ....  12 

Bullion  belt,  . . 76 

well  records,  . .  153,154,156 

Bullion  and  Clintonville  oil  field,  133 

Burchfield  well,  . . 165 

Burnett  (Mr.), .  107,108,136 

Burn’s  (William), . 41 

Burn’s  gas  wells, . 55,166 

Busted  Ring  well, . 165 

Butler, . 2,10,83,151,159 


!.  Page. 

Butler  county ;  Northern ;  West¬ 
ern;  Southern;  Report;  Oil 
wells,  .  .  .  5,144;  101;  13,188; 

114,148;  85,154,166;  140,141;  218 

Butler  township, .  48 

Butler  oil  belt, .  4,149,150,155 

Butler  Pike  ;  road, .  .  .  .  80,82;  112 
Butler  RR.  Company;  RR.  and 
branches,  .  .  3;  5;  19,152,156,157 

Caldwell  &  Emery  well, . 164 

Cambria  Company, . 141 

Campbell  (Mr.), . 137 

Campbell  (A.  L.)  farm, . 160 

Campbell,  Dror  bough  AStudebaker 

banks,  . . i  ....  .  62 

Campbell  (D.  F.), . 110 

Campbell  (G.  R.)  farm,  • . 162 

Campbell  (J.  W.), . 44 

Campbell  (J.  B.)  farm, . 163 

Campbell  (Robt.),  ........  160 

Campbell  (R.  D.)  farm,  .....  160 

Captain  Jack  well,  . . 164 

Carbon  Centre;  Thompson’s  Cor¬ 
ners;  District,  ...  55  ;  156;  151 

Carll  (John  F.), . 3, 

7,90,148, 150 , 154 , 155 , 218,225 ,226 
Carll  (John  H.),  22,34,89,156,157,166 

Carner  Farm, . 162 

Casey  (Edward), . 167 

Central  Point, . 89 

Centre, .  1 

Township,  .  .  5,13,35,  (§38)  ,48,  78 
Centreville,  .  .  3,7,10,11,25,93,95,100 
Chambers  (John)  bank,  .....  137 

Cherry  township, .  9 

line,.  .  23, 93,  (§60),  101, 105, 154;  104 

Cherry  Tree  well, . 163 

Christian  &  Cameron  well,  ....  160 

Christley  (Geo.), . 95,  99 

Christy’s  house, . Ill 

Cincinnati  Anticlinal, . 12 

Clarion  County ;  line,  .  141,142;  222 

Clarion  River, . 4,10,142 

Clay  Township,  .  .  .  .  1,5,7,8,15, 

20,21,23,59,  (§52),  78,79, 101,154 

Clearfield, .  1 

township,.  .  2,55,152,158,165,166,170 
Cleminger  &  Maxwell  well,  .  .  .  161 

Cleveland, . 108,127 

Clifford  well, . 158 


GENERAL  I  XT)  EX 


V.  231 


Page. 

Clinton  ;  station,  ..  .  .  .  .  .  .  I  .  2, 
143,195,197,198,199,200,202;  192 

Clinton  county ;  . 141;  2^2 

Clinton  township,  . . 1,5 

Clintonville  and  Bullion,  ....  11 
Oilfield,  ..  ..  t.  .  .  .  .....  128,154,133 
Cochran  (Wm.),  ..  ....  .  .  .  .  126 
Collins’  Coal  Bank;  farm;  .  .  124;  123 
Collins  Bros.,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .162 

Collins  (Hugh), . 122 

Collins’  (Thomas)  well,  .  ...  .164 

Columbia  well, . . 159 

Columbia  Hill,  . . 115 

wells,  ,  .  ..  .  ..  116,122,156,158,159 

Columbia,  . .  .  161 

Oil  Company,.  ....  11,30,166,167 

Concord  ;  township, . .  .  59  ; 

(§53,)  .  .  .5,8,20,21,83,105,161,162 

Connoquenissing  Creek, . 2, 

5, 7, .11, 50, 83, 190, 191, 195, 196, 197 

Kearn’s  branch, . 48,51 

Divide,  . . 6 

Constable  well,  . .  162 

Cornwall  well, . 159 

Conway  coal  bank,  .  . . 56 

Constenays’  Mills, . 129,130 

Cran bury  township, . 1,2 

Crawford  county, . 226 

Crawford  farm, . 163 

Criswell  well, . 156 

Critchlow  well,  .  .  .  . . 158 

Crocker’s  coal  bank, . 98 

Cross  belt, . .  .  .151,154,155 

Cummings’  well, . 162 

Cunningham’s  farm, . 191 

Currie  (Wm.)  farm, . 64 

coal  opening, . 66 

Darling  well, . 158 

Darrer  well, . 161 

Daubenspeck  farm, . 163 

Davidson,  Green  &  Co.’s  bank,  197,199 

Davis  (Porter), . 67 

Davis  (William), . 73 

Davis  (Mr.), . ,137 

Davitt  (John), . 169 

Dead  Beat  well, . 161 

Delap  (S.  N.)  well,  .  . . 160 

Delvin  (Mr.), . •  •  .  .  174 

Denny  well,  . . 162 

Devide  or  Vide  well, . .  .  158 

Dividing  ridges  of  Butler  county,  .  5 


:  Page. 

Dilk’s  R.  R.  station,  .  ..  .  .  ..  5 

Diviner  farm,  ...  .  «■ .  10.57,164 

Diviner  well, .  .....  .164 

Donegal  township, . .  .  .  .10, 

13,15,20,35,55,163,164,165,166,170 

Donelly, . .  .  .  . . 27, 

R.  R.  station,  .  .33,115,116,117,122 

Dctter’s  R.  R.  siding,  .  . . 11 

Dougherty  farm  ; .  well,  .  .  161 , 174 , 176 
Down  East  well,  .  ...  ...  .  .  161 
Draw  Shite,  .  .  .  .  ..  .  .  .  103,104,108 
Drorbough ;  Campbell  &  Stude- 

baker  banks,  ...A, . 62 

Duchess  farm, . 158 

Dufiy  (E.)  farm;  (P.)  farm,  .  .165;  166 

Dugan  farm, .  ...  .  .  .  164,165 

Dull  well,  . . 158 

Eagle  (Eli  G.), .  .......  48 

Easterling  farm, . 170 

Eckert’s  Bridge,  .  .  .: . 63,67 

Eichenlaub  farm,  . . 165 

Eldorado,  .  ...  . . 117,118 

Elk  county, . 224 

Emerson  well,  . . 165 

Emerson  &  McCloud  well,  ....  163 
Emerson  (Messrs.  Emerson  and 

Bronson), . 132 

Emery  &  Caldwell  well, . 160 

Emlenton,  . . 11 

English  (J.  Y.), . 44 

Erie  and  Pittsburgh  R.  R.,  .  .  186,206 

Evans’ well, . .161,176 

Exchange  well, . 159 

Fairview, . 3,90,112,156 

Fairview  township,  .  .  .  .1,8,59,85, 
(§  86),  86, 114,121,159,160,161,162, 
163,  169,  172,  174,  176,  178,  180,182 
Farmington,  .....  .  .  5,6,125,133 

Barren  town, . 156 , 158 

Fetzer  <fe  Myers  tract, . 164 

Five  Pom ts oil  district,  102,104,105,111 
Fletcher  farm;  well,  .  .  .  .159;  166 

Ford  (A.)  farm,  . . 163 

Forest  county, . 142 

Forest  mill  . 68 

Forker  well, . 158 

Forman  well,  No.  3, . 162 

Forquer  bank, . 56,57 

Forward  township, . 1,2,20 

Frank  well,  . 161 

Franklin  ;  Road, . 76 ;  126 


232  Y. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Page. 

Franklin,  .  1 

township,  13,20,23,24,35,41,48, 154 

Frederick  farm, . 164 

Frederickstown  axis,  .  .  .  12,207,208 

Freeport  basin,  . . 18 

Fronsinger  farm,  .  .  .122,156,159,167 

Frothingliam  well, . 160 

Gallagher  (John)  farm, . 44 

Galey  well, . 164 

Galloway  farm, . 102 

Game  well, . 158 

Gardener  bank, . 91 

Geauga  county  (Ohio),  ....  217,225 

Gibson  farm, . 159 

Gibson  &  Ecock  wells,  .  33,34,122,167 

Gill  bank, . 95 

Gillespie  well;  farm, . 165 

Glade  well, . 162 

Glenn  opening,  . Ill 

Glenn  (Robert), . 76 

Glenn  (William  C.), . 80,110 

Good  Enough  well, . 160 

Gordon  well, . 162 

Gordon  Brothers’  well, . 163 

Gormley  (Mr.), . 134 

Grace  (S.  and  T.),  well, . 164 

Grace  (F.  &  M.),  well, . 

Graham  (Daniel), . 72,75 

Graham  (Joseph), . .  .  75 

Graham  (J.),  farm, . 165 

Graham  (William  C.), . 110 

Great  Belt  City, . 157 

Greece  City,  .  .52,83,84,85,86,154, 156 

Greece  &  Modoc  district, . 151 

Greene  county, . 18 

Greenfield  bore  hole, . 210 

Grossman  (B.), . 76,102 

Gundy  (Mr.), . 212 

Hall  (Mr.),  83,219 

Harbor  Bridge, .  206,208 

Hardscrabble, . 200 

Hare  well,  . . 161 

Harrisburg  §  10, . 10 

Harrisville, . 3,25,130 

Harrisville  anticlinal, . 12 

axis  §  46,  .  .  .  63,94,95,128,192,197 
Harrisville  synclinal  trough,  11,95,197 

Harrisville  coal  field, . 94 

R.  R.  station, . 11,126 


Harrop  farm ;  Harrop  &  Co.  well,  159 
Hart  &  Concle  well, . 165 


Page. 

Hart  &  Hicks  well, . 159 

Hatch  (Mr.), . 156 

Hayes  Bank, . 95 

Hazlewood  Oil  Co.  well  and  tract,  160 
Hazlewood  well,  No.  21,  .  .  .  89,178 

Heck  (D.),  and  Eagle, . 45 

coal  banks, . 50 

Hemphill  farm  (heirs),  .  .  .163,164 

Hemphill  (J.)  farm, . 163,164 

Hermon  Oil  Co., . 165 

R.  R.  Station, . 152,156 

Higgins  (J.)  banks, . 135,136 

High  Flyer  well, . 161 

Hilliard  farm, . 113 

Hindman  farm, . 46 

Hitchcock  Slope, . 137 

H.  L.  T.  &  Co., . 162 

Hockenberry  (William),  (H.  D.)  ; 

opening, . 61,104;  111 

Hogan  well, . 163 

Hogg  (Harvey), . 94 

Hog  Hollow,  .  .  .200,202,204,206,207 
Homewood  furnace,  .  .  .  189,191,197 
Homewood  R.R.  Station,  11.  (Har- 

Harrisville  axis), . 12 

Hooker  (Jim)  well, . 161 

Hoopskirt  well, . 159 

Hoover  well, . 162 

Hope  well,  No.  1  and  No.  2,  .  .  .  161 

Hornet  well,  ...  161 

Hughes  (Mr.), . 133 

Hulings  farm, . 51 

Humes  farm, .  143,152,156,165 

Humes  well,  No.  1  and  No.  2,  .  .  165 

Humphrey  (James), . 66,67 

Hunter  well,  No.  1  and  2,  ....  165 

Hunter  &  Cummings  well,  ....  163 

Huselton  well  and  farm, . 162 

Hutchinson’s  bank, . 54 

Ida  well, . 164 

Indiana  county, . 141 

Ingleside  well, . 159 

Invincible  well, . 162 

Iron  Bridge  (Muddy  Cr.),  .36,37,  61 
Jack  farm  gas  well  record,  .  .109,112 

Jack  farm, . 112 

Jackson  (Mr.), .  2 

Jacobs  well, . 159 

Jamestown, . 224 

Jamison  farm,  ....  84,160,162 


John  Smith  well  (see  Smith),  .  .  227 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Y.  233 


Page. 

Jefferson  county, . 141 

J  efferson  township, . 2,5, 165 

Jeffersonville, . 152 

Jennings  well, No.5, 161, 162.  (Well 

No.  4, . 162 

Jenkins  farm  and  well,  .  .  55,158,159 

Jim  Hooker  well, . 161 

Jones  farm, . 41,158 

Johnsonburg  coal  field, . 141 

Earns  City,  19,56,87,90,91,148, 152 , 156 
Earns  City  and  Butler  R.  R.  Co.,  3,91 

Earns  well, . 162 

Earthaus,  . 141 

Eaylor  oil  district, . 152 

Eearns  Branch  of  Connoquenes- 
sing  River,  .  .  6,10,35,48,54,  83 

Eeister  (John)  mills, . 99 

Eennedv’s  mills, .  7 

Eepplefarm, . 163 

Eerns  well,  No.  6,  .  .  162,  (1204)  ,182 

Eeystone  well,  .  163 

Eildoo’s  quarry, . 68 

Eincaid  well  and  farm,  .  .  .  .91,163 

Eingsbury  (Mr.), . 100 

Eirk  &  Dilworth  well, . 165 

Enapp  (Andrew),  . 126 

Lady  Campbell  well,  ......  160 

Lady  McClelland  well, . 160 

Lady  Moore  well, . 163 

Lady  Sutton  well, . 161 

Lake  Erie,  .  .  219 

Lancaster  township, . 1,  2 

Lancaster  well,  . 161 

Lancaster  County, . 5,12,15, 

17,24,27,31,33,34,36,37,59,63,67, 
69,94,98,  117,128, 141,  142,  185,222 

Lawrence  County  line, . 7,  93 

Lawrenceburg, . 4 , 

27 , 115 , 117 , 118 , 120 , 136 , 158 

Lechner  farm, . 165 

Lechner  well, . 165 

Leetonia  (Ohio), . 202 

Lee’s  bank, . 197,199 

Liebold  (Henry), . 51 

Lesquereau  (L.),  ....  189,190,200 

Lesley  (J.  P.),  .  7,11,15,20,67,145,155 

Liberty — West, . 3,7,71,  73 

Lightfoot  well, . 160 

Lioness  well, . 158 

Little  Bear  Creek, . 89 

Livermore  (Frank), . 211 


Page 

Lock  Haven, . 222 

Lone  Star  well, . 162 

Love  farm, . 210,216 

Lowellville, . 142 

Lucas  (Mr.), . 88 

Lutz  bank, . 72 

Lycoming  county, . 221 

Maggie  well  (No.  1),  ,  .  .158,161,162 
Mahoning;  river;  valley,  .  59,142,217 

Maid  well, . 165 

Maple  furnace  (old), 

on  North  Bear  Cr., . 123 

Maple  Shade  well, . 159 

Marion, .  l 

township,  .  .  9,106,125,126,  §  72  130 

Marion  well, . 158 

Martin,  (J.  P.), . 72 


Martinsburg,  .  .10,27,28,33,112,115, 
118,119,120,121,122,124,150,152,159 
Martinsburg  axis  §  9,  §  67,  .  10,119,120 

Mary  Ann  well, . 161,162 

Mattison  &  McDonald, . 160 

well,  . (H70),  169 

Maud  Jack  well, . 161 

Mayville  well  and  tract, . 161 

McAlear  (?)  farm, . 160 

McAllister  farm,  wells  Nos.  1,  3,  5,  165 

McAnallen  (Mr.), . 82 

McBride’s  farm, . 50 

McCafferty  (Mr.), . 122,123 

McCandless  (G.  J.)  ;  (W.  N.),  .  45;  46 
McCandless  well ;  farm,  .  .  .46,47,52 

McCarvey  well,  No.  1, . 162 

McClayinan’s  well,  No.  1, . 160 

McCleary  farm,  . 161,174 

McClelland  (S.),  well,  No.  1;  farm,  162 

McClintock  well, . 164 

McClyman’s  farm, . 160,169 

McConnell  (Mrs.  M.), . 39 

McCracken’s  house ;  opening,  .  .  63 
McCreath  (Mr.),  .  .  .  .49,62,106,127 

McCullough  well, . 164 

McDermott  (P.),  farm;  (W.  W.), 

farm, . 162,163 

McDonald  well, . 160 

McElvain  (Sami.),  coal,  .  .  .  .80,81 
McGara  (S.),  of  Martinsburg,  .  55,176 

McGarvey  farm, . 110,162 

McGill  well, . 163 

McGinley  farm, . 165 

McGregor  (Mr.), . 104 


234 


GENERAL  INDEX.; 


Page. 

McGrinley  farm  ;  well, . 164 

McGuire  (P.),  form, . 165 

McKee  (Hon.  David)  ;  (Mr.)  resi¬ 
dence,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ..  .  .  96 ;  96 

McKinney  Bros,  well,  No.  2,  4,  .  .  164 
McKnight  (Mr.),  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -.  96 

McLaughlin  farm,  .-  j . 165 

McMichael  (Mr.)  ;  well,  .  .  .79;  163 

McMurry’s  Run,  . . .  103 

Gas  well,  .  .  .  ’  .  .  .  .  .  126;  112 

McMurry’s  Mills,  . . 131,132 

McVey  &  Co.  well  No.  1, . 163 

Mead  well,  .  .  .  .  55,165, (1173) ,170 
Mecca — see  Oil,  ..........  224 

Mechanicsburg, . 63 

Mechanicsville, . 128 

Mechlin  well  No.  1, . 164 

Melvin  (D.  R.), . 40 

Mercer  County,  .  .5,31,33,69,93,94, 
98 , 1 17 , 125 , 126 , 128 , 142 , 185 , 225 , 226 

Mercer,  .  1 

Township,  .  9,23,125,  (§69)  ,126,131 
Mercer  Mining  and  Manufacturing 

Co., . 28,126 

Middlesex;  RR.  Station ;  Town¬ 
ship,  .  .  .  2,212,214,215;  213;  5 

Middletown, . 4,5,6,  83 

Millerstown, . 3,10,15,19,55, 

56, 57, 58,  90,  91, 92,152,155,156,164 
Millerstown  Anticlinal,  §8,  §43, 10,  57 
Millerstown  Coal,  §56,  .  .  .  .  .  .  90 
Millerstown  East  Belt,  ....  87,152 

Miller  Oil  Co.,  .  , . 162 

Mills  (Mr.), . 197,199 

Mitchell  well  No.  2, . 161 

Modoc  City;  oil  sand;  well;  dis¬ 
trict,  .  .  .  .  113;  87,156;  161;  151 

Mock  (Sami.), . 81 

Mock  Bank, . 82 

Mohawk  well, . 161 

Monnie  (Mr.),  .  , . 53 

Moore  (Isaac)  farm;  (J.)  farm; 

(  W.)  farm,  .  .  .  .  .  41 ;  163 ;  163 

Moravia, . ,  202 

Morehead  <fc  Lardin  well,  .  .  162,180 
Morrison  well  No.  1  farm,  ....  162 

Mortimer  farm, . 162,180 

Mount  Chestnut,  . . 46 

Muddy  Creek,  5,6,7,8,15,20,35,36,37, 
43,60,61 ,63,71 ,73,78 , 83 , 150 , 153 , 154 
Muddy  Creek;  falls;  valley,  .  .  7 ;  60 


'  Page. 

Muddy  Creek,  1 

Township,  ....  13,23,35,36,59,61 

Murphy  (P.)  farm,  ........  165. 

Murphy  farm,  ..........  165 

Murrin  (Hugh),  .  .  . . 134 

Murrin  (Joseph), . 134 

Murrinsville,  .  106,125,131,133,134,154 


Myers’  Farm,  . . 40 

Mystic  well,  ...........  159 

Nassua,  . .  208,210,212 

Neff  (J.)  farm, . 165 

Nesbitt  well ;  record,  .  .  .  153;  46,  47 

Nesbit  &  Lardin, . 160 

Neshannock  Creek, . 188 

New  Brighton, . .  17,  25 

Newberry  (Dr.  J.  S.),  .  .  .  .216;  31 

New  Castle,  .  .  .  . . 7, 

12,  31, 188, 199, 200,203,204,206,208 

New  Castle  well, . 228 

New  Castle  and  Homewood  RR.,  .  186 
New  Hope  Woolen  Mills,  .  .  95,  96 

Newport, . 200 

Newton  well, . 161 

Nolan’s  house,  .  . . 92 

North  Branch, . 106 

North  Washington ;  road,  .  .  3,5,6, 
21,  93,105,106,108,109,111,112,118, 
122,131,134,152;  85 

Now  (J.)  farm,  . . 165 

Oakland  Township ;  line,  .  .  .1,13, 
15,20,35,  (§40)  ,52,54,55,84,165;  83 

O’Brien’s . 57 

O’Donnell  (Mr.)  ;  farm,  .  .  .134;  166 

Ohio;  axis, . 12,217,142;  12 

Oil  City,  . 11,142,148 


Oil  Creek ;  oil ;  region ;  type ;  well 
records,  .  .  .  .  149;  114;  139;  150;  76 
Oil  Fields  of  Butler  County,  §83,  .  149 
Oil  wells 

of  Franklin  Township.  .  .  .  46,205 
of  Grace  City ;  Fairview ;  3d 

Sand,  . 3;  149 

Oil  and  Gas  wells,  (§73),.  .  .  .  .132 
Oil  belts,  Eastern  and  Western 

belts,  .  . . .  87 

Millerstown  and  St.  Joe  3d  Sand 

belt, .  149,153;  140,52 

3d  Sand  Oil  belt,  .  .  .  55,57,87,151 
4th  Sand  Oil  belt,  ....  52,53,87 

Venango  Oil  fields, . 

Olive  well,  . . 162 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Y.  230 


Page. 

Oliver  farm,  ........  .  .  .”  .  .  41 

O’Reilly  well,  . . 165 

Osceola  well,  ......  .  *  .  .  .  161 

Overv  well,  ...  .  .  .  .  .  ,  .  165 


Pacific  Slope,  near  Sharon,  ....  215 


Painter  (Mr.),  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  79 
Pai  nt  Fork  of  Sandy  River,  E.  Ken¬ 
tucky,  ......  -j  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  18 

Pardoe  in  Mercer  Co.,  ....  28,129 

Parker  City,  ...........  4 

Corners,  .  .  .  6,27,33,113,115,116 
Elevator,  .  .  117,150,151,156,157,158 

Parker  (J.),  farm,  .  . . 162 

Parker  Oil  District,  .  .  . . 149 

Parker  R.  R. ;  and  Karns  City  R. 

R.  Co.,  .  ...  ...  .  .  .  ,  .  3;  119 
Parker  Township,  .  .  1,21,22,24,25, 
89,93, 106,109 ,(  §  65)  114 , 149 , 159 , 167 


Parsons  well,  . . 158 

Parsonville, . 105 

Patterson  (Billy),  well,  ..'...  159 
Patterson  (Robt.)  farm,  .  .  .  .79,81 

Patton  well, . .  .  .  161 

Perdue  well,  . . 160 

Perry  (Mr.), . 102 

Perry,  Armstrong  Co., . 158 

Perry  Township,  .  .  .1,2,114,162,163 
Person’s  (F.  N.),  Bear  Creek,  .  .  159 

Peters  (Adam)  farm, . 162 

Petrolia,  .  .  .  3,87,88,89,151,156,160 

Phillips  Bros.,  . .  76 , 133 , 153 

Pisor  bank, . 61,64 

Pittsburgh;  Pike, . 141 

Boyd’s  Hill  well,  .  .  .  148; 74, 128;  19 

Platt  (Mr.),  . . 141,222 

Portersville, . 3, 

5,36,37,38,39,40,41,60,67,68 

Power  (W.  G.), . 77 

Pottsville,  . . 221 

Prentice  (Mr.) . 136 

well,  ........  163,164,165,166 


Presbyterian  Church,  at  Middle¬ 


town, 


84 


Preston  well ;  water  well,  162 , 163  ;  160 

Prospect  well, .  3,5,43,46,50 

Prospect  and  Portersville  road,  .  .  40 

Pulaski,  .  .  .  . . 209 

Ralph  well  and  well,  .  .  .  .143;  160 

Ralston  (W.),  farm, . 39 

opening, . 161,39 

Rankin  (D.  C.),. farm, . 161 


I 

!  Page. 

Rattling  Jack  well,  .  ....  .  .  .159 

Ray  (Mr.);  (J.),  bank,  .  .  132;  83,84 
Raymilton,  in  Venango  county,  .  .  153 
Rebecca  Jane  well,  .  ......  .159 

Red  Bridge,  (in  Lawrence  county ) ,  6 
Red  Bank  Creek,  .....  .  .  142 

Red  Cross  well,  .  .  ;  .  .  .  .  .162 

Reddick  farm,  ...  .  .  .  .  .159,166 

Reed  well,  ...  . .  .j  . . 161 

Reis  (Brown  &  Berger,)  .  .  .  .  .  204 
Relief  well,  . .  . . 1 ."  .  .  165 


Reno  oil  well  records,  .  .  ,  .  .  .  76 
Riddle  (L.),  well  and  farm,  .  163,165 

Rider  (Jacob),..  .  .  .' . .53 

Roberts  well,  . . 162 

Robinson  farm,  .  .  ..  .  ..  ,  .  .  158,159 

Rob  Roy  well,  . . 160 

Rock  City,  . . 131 

Rock  Point,  ........  ,189,195 

Rogers  (Geo.)  ;  (J.)  ;  Prof.,  .  .  57,57 
Rogers  (Prof.  H.  D.),  .  ....  27,145 

Rose  Bud  well, . 159 

Rose  Point, . 7 

in  Lawrence  county,  .  .  .63,68;  69 

Rumbaugh  farm, . 112,113,114 

Rumbaugh,  ...........  112 

oil  wells  §  64 .  113,153,154 

Sadie  well,  .  .  .  .  . . 162 

Satterfield  &  Taylor, . 47 , 160 

Salsbury  well,  ..........  163 

Say  (H.  H.),  farm;  well,  159;  160,163 

Schnure  farm, . 165 

School  house  ;  No.  4,  .  .  .  .  162 ;  103 


Scott’s  banks  ;  at  Clinton,  .  199 ;  197 
Scott  ( W. ) ,  farm,  .  .  .....  160 

Scrubgrass;  bend;  creek;  Little 
creek,  .  .  .  12;  11;  126;  135;  136 


Scudder  well, . 163,165 

Seceder’s  or  Eckert, s  bridge,  ...  67 

Sedgwick  farm,  . . 159 

Seibert  (B.  B.),  farm,  .......  163 

Shain.  (Henry), . 110 

Shanghai  well,  .  . . 161 

Shannon ’sepal  bank, . 198,199 

Shannon  (Samuel  W.),  farm,  .  .  .  45 

Shamburg  &  O’Hara, . 164 

Sharpsyille,  . . 219 


Sharon  well,  ....  .213,216,219,220 
Sharon;  coal  region,  .  .  226,227 ;  217 

Sharon  furnace,.  . 219 

Sharon  well, .  219,220,227 


236  Y. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Page. 

Shaw’s  bridge, . 61,37,63 

Sheakley  well  and  farm;  (Heirs’ 

farm), .  160,163,178;  164 

Sheakley  coal  banks, . 89 

Shenango  creek, . 3,206 

and  valley, . 185,22 

Shenango  &  Allegheny  R.  R.,  108,129 

Shenango  Iron  Co.’s  Gas  well,  .  .  204 

Shidemantle  well, . 160,165 

Shinn  (John), . 202 

Sliira  (Mr.), .  114 

(  Wm. ) ,  farm, . 112 , 114 

Shirley  well, . 166 

Shite  Poke  well, . 164 

Sho  waiter  well, . .  .  165 

Shreve  well, . 164 

Seebold  (H.), . 51 

Silver  Creek, . 89,119,122 

Sinnemahoning  Creek, . 141 


Six  Points,  .  .  118 , 120 ,136,137, 150 , 152 
Six  Points  or  Crawford’s  Corners 


Oil  held . §77,138 

Slippery  Rock,  .  6,11,59,60,99,130,133 
Slippery  Rock  Creek,  .  .  3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 
9,  26,28,32,33,34,63,67,68,70, 
78,83,  93,94,101,  102,105,107, 


128,  153,  154, 190,  197,  198,200 

Slippery  Rock, . 83 

South  Branch, . 105,111,113 

Slippery  Rock  Divide, . 71 

Slippery  Rock, .  9 

Township,  .  23,93,  (§  58)  94,101,128 

Smith  well, . 161,165 

Smith  (Mr.);  (John)  well;  (Mrs.) 

farm, . 158;  76,77,153,160 

Smiths’  coal  bank, . 108,109 

Smith ’s  Ferry ;  Run,  .  .  .  .12,17;  92 

Smith  &  Thompson, . 160,47 

Snow  farm;  (W.)  farm,  .  .  162;  182 

Somerset  county, . 141 

South  Branch, . .  .  102 

South  Side  well, . 159 

Spearman,  Ulp  &  Co., . 214 

Spence  well, . 160 

Spider  well, . 161 

Starr  (J.)  farm, . 161 

Steele  farm, . 162 

Stewart  (A)  farm, . 164 

Stevenson  (Prof.), . 18;  12 

St.  Joe, .  55,151,156,170 


Page. 

Stone  House, . 99 

Banks  ;  Tract,  .  .  .  120 , 156 ;  83 ;  159 

Storey  (Martha), . 90 

Story  Run, . 119 

Stoughton  well, . 164 

Strawbridge  (Mr.), . 211 

Straw  bridge  Coal,  of  Ohio,  ....  187 

Strickland  &  Fuller, . 161 

Stuart  farm, . 41 

Studebaker’s  (Drorbough,  Camp¬ 
bell  & - )  bank,  .  .  .  .62,63 

Sucker  Rod  Belt, . 87 

Sulphur  Water  well, . 158 

Summit;  Township,  1,2,165,157;  165 

Sunbury, . 8,4,6,79,80 

Sutton  well, . 172 

Sutton  (J.)  farm, . 161 

(P.)  farm, . 161,172 

Tack  &  Morehead,  .  . . 160 

Tanner  well, . 165 

Taylor  (Satterfield  & - ),  ...  47 

Taylor  (H.  L.)  ;  &  Co.,  .  .  .  153;  182 

Taylor  (H.  T.  &  Co.), . 172 

Templeton  well, . 160 

Thompson  farm, . 163 

(Robt.)  farm,  .  .  .  98,113;  166,170 
Thompson  Gas  Well  (1175),  Carbon 

Centre, . 170;  166*  55 

Thompson  &  Mechlin, . 164 

Thoms  Run, . 158 

Tippery  Corners, . 11,142 

Troutman  farm;  (S. — )  farm;  well; 
well  at  Modoc,  .  .  .  81,161;  113;  151 

Trumbull  County,  Ohio, . 226 

Trumbull  &  Croll, . 113 

Turk  (Mr.), . 75 

Tycoon  well, . 159 

Ulp  (Spearman  &  Co.), . 214 

Uncle  Hiram  well, . 163 

Unionville;  Coal  Banks  (Centre 

T.),  §39, . 3;  48 

United  Pipe  lines, . 112 

Vanporte,  in  Beaver  Co., . 142 

Venango  County;  drillings, 5, 24, 28, 98, 
125,  126,  128,136,  141,142;  148;  226 

Venango,  .  1 

Township,  .  .  .  23,106,125,131,133 
Vogan  (Widow);  (Geo.),  ...  61;  63 
Wampum  ;  Bank  ;  Oil  Co.’s  well,  143, 
188 , 197 , 198 , 199,200,201;  199;  197 
Warner;  farm, . 164;  164 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Y.  237 


Page. 

Washington  County, . 18 

Washington  (See  North  Washing¬ 
ton). 

Washington  Township, . 21 

23, 80 ,93 , 104 ,  (  §  61 ) ,  105 , 1 14 , 136 

Watson  (Mr.), . 88 

Weakley  Banks, . 95 

Weber  (Mrs.  Mary,) . 75 

Weiser  well, . 164,166 

Weitzel  (Mr.), . 73 

Whiskey  Run, . 143 

in  Armstrong  Co., . 152 

White  (Mr.),  .  17,25,31,39,41,68,129, 
142 , 145 , 185 ,188,195, 197 , 198 , 223 
White  (Prof.),  .2,7,9,12,18,22,54,146 

White  Bank, . 40 

Whitmore  Bank,  . .53 

Wick’s  Mills, . 99,100 

Wigton  (Mr.); farm;  (Wm.);farm; 

banks, . 75;  99;  45;  46 

Wilcox,  in  McKean  Co., . 141 


Page. 

Wildcat  well,  . 159 

Wilkesbarre, . 221 

Wilson  (W.)  farm, . 161 

(W.  A.)  farm,  .  . . 160 

Winfield, .  2 

Wittemburg, .  188,189,191,200 

Wolf  Creek, .  6,11,28,63,69, 

70,93,94 ,95  ,  96 , 98 , 100 , 128 , 129 , 153 

Well,  Fig.  149, .  153,227 

Oil  and  Salt  Testing  Company, 

§59, . 100 

Woods  &  Ripley, . 162 

Worth, . 59 

Worth  Township, .  5 

line,  .  .  9,23,  (§45)  ,59,71,94,128;  76 

Wyatt  well ;  (Mr.), . 163;  170 

Wyoming  County, . 221 

Yellow  Creek, . 39 

East  Branch, . 41;  39,  55 

Young  (James), . 81,  84 


238  V, 


GEOLOGICAL  I  INDEX. 


2.  Geological. 

A.  The  Beds  Arranged  in  Descending  Order. 


Page. 


Upper  Productive  Coal  Measures, . 106 

Pittsburgh  Coal  bed,  . . 14,  18,  26 

Barren  (Lower)  Measures  Section  §  12, .  12,  17,  18,  43,  48,  83 

Soil  in  Muddy  Creek,  Franklin,  Centre,  Oakland,  Donegal, .  8 

Pittsburgh  Upper  Limestone, . .  14 

Pittsburgh  Little  Coal  and  Limestone,  .................  14 

Elk  Lick  Coal  and  Limestone,  . .  14 

Berlin  Coal, .  14 

Green  Crinoidal  Limestone,  .  .  .  . . . .  14 

Platt  Coal  (?),  . . . . ......  14 

Black  Fossiliferous  Limestone, . .  .  . . .  .  18 

Bakertown  Coal,  . . 13,  14 

Pine  Creek  Limestone,  ....  13,  14 

Buffalo  (Mahoning,  Upper)  Sandstone,  . . .  13,  14,  48 

Brush  Creek  Limestone,  . 13,  14 

Brush  Creek  Coal, . . 13,  14,  48,  51,  56 

Mahoning  SS.,  .  .  8,  14,  17,  18,  19,  20,  36,  37,  54,  64,  66,  71,  78,  83,  84,  86,  90,  91 

Contains  the  Millerstown  Coal, .  16 

Millerstown  Coal,  described  §  16,  §  42, 15,  16, 19,  20,  29,  51,  54,  55,  56,  84,  86,  170 

Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures, .  8 

Described, .  13,  17,  36,  49,  59,  94,  146,  147,  148,  185,  186,  221,  222 

Description  of  its  various  limestones, . . . 144 

Freeport  Group,  described  §  14,  .  .  .  17,  18,  19,  35,  36,  48,  59,  60,  71,  78,  83,  122 

Upper  and  Lower  beds,  .  53 

Freeport  Upper  Coal,  described  §  15,  §  17, . 16, 

17,  18,  19,  20,  29,  37,  39,  42,  46,  48,  50,  52,  53,  ?  54,  55,  56,  57,  64,  66, 
74,  78,  79,  80,  81,  82,  83,  84,  85,  86,  90,  93,  105,  106,  114,  116,  121,  136 

Freeport  Upper  Limestone,  described  §  15,  §  18,  . 16,  17,  18,  20,  21, 

29,  36,  64,  78,  79,  81,  85,  90,  93,  105,  109,  113,  114,  116,  123,  124,  141,  147,  199 

Distance  from  Ferriferous  Limestone  constant, .  15 

Absent  from  the  Parker  Section,  .  .  .  ' . 115 

Freeport  Upper  (Summit  Ore  of  Q,  Report,  Beaver  County), .  16 

Freeport  Upper  Sandstone,  ...  16,  22,  51,  53,  57,  70,  82,  101,  116,  119,  121,  133 

Freeport  Lower  Coal, .  16,  21,  29,  42,  50,  51,  53,  54,  66,  74,  75,  78,  80, 

81  to  86,  88,  90,  93,  106,  108,  109,  111  to  115,  118,  122,  123,  133,  ?  172,  180,  182 

At  Homewood  Furnace  Section  doubtful, . 190 

Freeport  Lower  Limestone,  described  §  20, .  16,  21,  29,  123,  147 

As  it  appears  in  the  Oil  wells, .  172,  174,  176,  180,  182 

Freeport  Lower  Limestone  Ore,  at  Old  Maple  Furnace,  . 128 

Eichenhauer  Coal  ?  same  as  Currie  Local  Coal  ? .  22 

Currie  Local  Coal  in  the  Freeport  Lower  Sandstone,  described  §  47,  .  .  .  22, 

65,  66,  72,  SI,  88,  89,  105,  106,  116,  124 
Freeport  Lower  Sandstone,  described  §  21,  8,  15,  16,  22,  23,  24,  26,  37,  44,  45,  72, 
84,  89,  93,  94,  99,  106,  110,  113,  116,  121,  126,  127,  130,  131,  134.— Shaly,  186 

Kittanning  Group,  described  §  25, .  17,  24,  35,  59,  60,  71,  78,  124 

Coal  beds  of  the  group, . 18,  93,  195 

Upper,  Middle  Middle  and  Lower  Coals, . 188 

Upper  and  Middle  Coals, .  36,  43,  59,  71 

Upper  or  Middle  Coal, .  33 


GEOLOGICAL  INDEX. 


V.  239 


» 

Page. 

Kittanning  Upper  Coal,  described  §  51,  . . 15; 

16,  22,  23,  24,  26,  29,  39,  40,  41,  42,  45,  46,  51,  53,  54,  60,  61,  66, 
74,  75,  76,  78,  80  to  84,  86,  88,  89,  94,  98,  99,  102,  104,  105,  106 

McGarvey’s  Cannel, . 106,  110 

Darlington  Cannel, . 107 

North  Washington  Cannel,  §  62, . 109 

Continuation  of  description, . .  Ill,  112,  113,  114 

Cannel,  . . 119 

Continuation  of  description,  .  .  120  to  125,  130,  131,  134  (§  75),  169, 186,  190 
Kittanning  Upper  Limestone,  the  same  as  the  Johnstown  Cement  Bed  of 

Cambria  County,  .  . . .  . . 141 

Kittanning  Middle  (perhaps,  here,  Upper)  Coal, . 41 

Described  in  •§  23,  .  . .  16,  23,  24,  26,  29,  42, 

43,  45,  46,  47,  60,  61,  64,  66,  67,  68,  71  to  76,  8S,  94  to  99,  102,  105,  106,  107, 
*111,  116,  119,  123,  125,  126,  127,  129,  186,  190,  192,  193,  196,  199,  201,  202,  203 

Mined  at  Lee’s  bank, . 198 

Harrisville.  bed,  .  .  . .  94,  95,  98,  185 

Perhaps  the  Lower  coal, . 137 

Kittanning  Lower  Coal,  described  §  24,  ..  . . 16,  23, 

25,  26,  29,  37,  42,.  43,  59,  .60.  61,  70,  88,  89,  95,  97,  102  to  105,  107,  111,  115, 
116,  118,  119,  125,  134,  135,  174,  176,  178,  186,  190,  191,  193,  195,  196,  )99 

Kittanning  Lower  .Coal  Fire  Clay, . .  .  .  . . .  ■.  .  .  .  .  .  193 

Ferriferous  Coal  bed  or  beds,  . . .  15,26,  59,  97 

Buhrstone  (Limestone)  iron  ore,  described  §  81, . 17,  144>  145 

Ferriferous  Limestone  described,  §  26,  §  79, . . .  4,  8,  11$ 

.  16  to  19,  20  to  22,. 24  to  28,  36,  37,  43,  47,  55,  60,  61,  63,  67,  68,  69,  70, 
71,  75,  88  to  90,  93  to  105,  107,  109,  111  to  113,  116  to  119,  121,  122,124, 

125,  127  to  131,  133,.  135,  137,  140,  141,  147,  148,  151,  153,  168  to  170* 
172,  178,  180,  182,  186,  188,  189,  192,  195,  197,  198,  199,  201,  202,214 

Scrubgrass  Coal,  .  17,  26,  27,  29,  68,  69,  70,  96  to  99,  121,  128  to  130,  187,  203,  204 
Clarion  Group  Of.  Coal  beds,  described  §  48,  .  .  .  ....  .  .  .  28,  67,  93,  97,  133 

Clarion  Coal,  .  .  . . .  .  4,  17,  27  to  29,  33,  68,  96  to  98, 

102  to  104,  107?,  .115  to  120,  125,  129,  137,  176,  178,  187,  190,  192,  195,  196,  199 

Either  Clarion  or  Brookville  Coal,  . .  130, 131,  234 

BrookviJle  Coal,  ' . . . .  \  . 16, 17,  27  to  29; 

.  31,  68,  93,  96,  99,  100, .121,  125,  129,  131,  135,  137,  187,  196,  199,  201,  222 

Beaver.  River  Conglomerate  Series, . . . 4 

No.  XII,.  described  §  31,..  . .  16,  31,  101,  115,  117,  185,  186,  188 

Homewood  Sandstone^Top  (?)  of  No.  XII,  . . 4,  7, ,17$ 

28,  32,  34,  59,  68  to  71,  93,  94,  96,  97,  99,  100,  101,  104,  106,  115,  116,  118, 119, 

126,  129,  130,  131,  13.2,  187  to  190,  192  to  199,  202  to  204,  206,  222,  225.  227 

The  Sixty  Foot  Rock,  .....  .....  .  ...  .  .  .  .  .  . 121,213,  218 

Interconglomerate  beds  of  Fontaine, . .  69 

Mercer,  soft  interconglomerate  measures ;  shales, . . . 4;  60 

Mercer  Group  of  Coals, . .  .  32,  33,  94,- 

96,  116,  117,  125, 185,. 188, .194,  196,  200,  204,  209,  210,  214,  217,  218,  222,  225 

Mercer  coal  heds,  described  §  49,  .  .  .  .  ..  .  33,  6.9,  70,  97,  116,  118,  201,  202,  209 

Mercer  limestones,  described  as  double, . . .  33,  47,  147,  189 

Mercer  Limestones— spirit  .levels,  .  . .  .  .....  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  12, 

Mercer  Upper  Limestone,  .  .  .  187,188,  189,  196,  198,  203,  204,  206,  207,  208,  210 

Mercer  Limestone  Iron  Ore, .  70,  190,  196 

Mercer  Upper  Coal, . . . 187 


240  V. 


GEOLOGICAL  INDEX. 


Tage. 

Mercer  Lower  Limestone, .  187,  198,  207 

Mercer  Lower  Coal, .  187,  207,  210 

Connoquenessing  Sandstone,  Upper  and  Lower, .  4, 

6,  7,  33,  68,  117,  188  to  191,  196,  198,  204,  208,  214,  217,  223,  225. 

Connoquenessing  Upper  Sandstone, .  32,  68,  187,  194,  203,  211,  213,  215 

Quakertown  Coal  (Strawbridge,of  Ohio?  Hog  Hollow  Coal?),  32,  214,  206,  212 

Connoquenessing  Lower  Sandstone, .  32,  187,  194,  203,  206,  210,  215 

Sharon  Upper  (or  Rider)  Coal  (Strawbridge?), . 210 

Sharon  coal  field, . 188 

Sharon  Group  of  coals, .  32,  225 

Sharon  Coal  (Block  bed), . 31, 

33,  34,  187,  196,  200,  204,  206,  209,  212,  213,  223,  217,  218. 

Block  coal  (Sharon  bed)  at  Greenfield  and  Bethel,  &c., . 210, 

219,  211,  214,  215,  216,  219. 

Sharon  Conglomerate  (=Ohio  Conglomerate ;  or  its  top  member,)  ...  32, 
187,  188,  209,  212,  213,  214  217,  2  8,  219,  223  to  228. 

Its  lower  part  the  “  18  foot  sand  ”  at  Wampum, . 197 

Mountain  Sand  Group, .  4,  31,  115,  172,  174,  176,  178,  180,  182 

Sharon  Upper  Shales, . 225 

Sharon  Upper  Sandstone, .  31 

(First  Mountain  Sand  of  Venango?) .  197,  223  to  227 

Sharon  Lower  Shales,  . . 225 

Sharon  Lower  Sandstone, . 225 

(Second  Mtn.  Sand;  Carll’s  Garland  Conglomerate?), .  223  to  227 

Crawford  Upper  Shales  (Cuyahoga  Shales  of  Ohio),  .  .31,  32,  205,  224  to  228 

Berea  Grit  of  Ohio  survey,  .  . .  31 

(Third  Mtn.  Sand  of  Venango?) .  139,  150,  205,  220  to  227 

Crawford  Lower  Shales, . 100 

(Bedford  red  shales  of  Ohio,) .  150,  166,  205,  225  to  228 

Venango  Oil  Sand  Group  (Bullion,  Parker,  &c.), . 139 

Described  §  78, .  140,  141,  150,  152,  153 

First  Oil  Sand  of  Venango=H)riller’s  Second  Oil  Sand  at  Petrolia,  &c.,  139,  150 

Thirty  Foot  rock  at  Martinsburg  (?),  ...  , .  .  .  .115,150,  152 

Forty  Foot  rock,  red  rock,  of  Six  Points  oil  district  (?), . 139 

Second  Oil  sand  of  Venango, .  52,140,148,150,153 -  139,  173 

Fifty  Foot  rock  of  Martinsburg  ?, .  115,138,139,  152 

Blue  Monday,  over  the  Boulder,  . 150 

Boulder,  over  the  Stray  Third  at  Petrolia, .  150 

Stray  Third,  Brown  Sand  of  Six  Points  district  (?), . 138,  140 

Stray  Third  at  Martinsburg, . 150 

Third  Oil  Sand  of  Venango, .  133,138,151,152,154,  173 

Third  Sand  of  Six  Points, . . 86,  140 

Third  Sand  of  Bullion, . 149,  156 

Columbia  Hill  oil  rock,  Clintonville  Oil  Sand, . 140 

Stray  Fourth  of  the  Butler  wells  at  Petrolia,  &c., . 150 

Third  and  Fourth  Sands, . 115 

Fourth  Sand  of  the .  55 

Butler  wells  at  Petrolia, .  85,86,151,152,156,173;  - 148,  150 

Erie  Shales;  Chemung, . 219;  140,227,  228 


GEOLOGICAL  INDEX. 


V.  241  . 


B.  References  to  Geological  Facts . 

Page. 

Aerial  deposits, .  18 

Analyses  of  coals:  K.  U.  C  ;  K.  M.  C. ;  K.  L.  C., .  25 

LTnionville  coal, . 49,62,106,  127 

Ancient  flood  plane  of  the  Allegheny  river, .  5 

Ancient  erosion, .  17 

Ancient  anticlinals, .  28 

Aneroid  work, .  3 

Anticlinals  described  and  traced, . .  9 

A nticlinal  of  Harrisville, . 10,  11 

Anticlinal  of  Millersburg  discovered  in  oil  wells, .  10 

Anticlinals  in  Homewood  Sandstone,  .  . .  28 

Anticlinal  between  Clinton  and  Wampum, . 198 

Anticlinal  near  New  Castle,  same  as  Frederickstown  axis  ?  ......  12 ;  208 

Area  of  North  Butler, . . .  2 

Belt-line  theory,  §  84, . 154 

Belts  of  oil  described,  §  84, . 155 

Fourth  sand  belt  crosses  Concord  township ;  Cross  belt, . 85  ;  155 

Eastern,  Sucker-rod  and  Western  belts  sub-divisions  of  Third  in  Fair- 
view  township, . 87,  115 

Bends  in  Allegheny  river  caused  by  anticlinals, . 5,  11 

Big  Rock  of  the  Beaver  county  wells, . 226 

Block  coal  of  Sharon  bed  described, . 216  . 

Cannel  and  bituminous  coal  in  Darlington  (Kitt.  TJ.  C.), . 23,  104 

Semicannel  in  Millerstown  coal ;  Cannel  in  Currie  Local  coal,  .  .  54;  65 
Impure  laminated,  5'  to  7',  over  Kitt.  Mid.  coal,  Brady  township,  .  .  74 

Cannel  of  North  Washington  occupies  a  very  small  area, . 109 

Cannel  at  Murrinsville  in  Kitt.  Upper  coal, . 131 

Cannel  in  Venango  township  (K.  U.  C.),  one  mile  square, . 134 

Cannel  in  Kittanning  Lower  (?)  coal, . 135 

Cafions  rare  in  North  Butler, .  2 

CafLon  of  Homewood  Sandstone  on  Black’s  run,  Marion  township,  .  132 

Channels  of  rivers  changed  in  Glacial  age, . 7,  9 

Cliffs  of  Connoquenessing  Sandstone, . 194 

Clay  for  pottery  under  Kittanning  Middle  coal  at  Clinton,  . . 193 

Coal  area  in  North  Butler, .  18 

Sixth  Bituminous  coal  basin, .  9 

Scarce  in  Oakland  township, .  52 

Plenty  in  Worth  township  ;  got  from  the  Freeport  group, .  60 

Obtained  in  Fairview  township  almost  entirely  from  Millerstown  coal,  86 
Only  fuel  of  Mercer  township  comes  from  Kittanning  Middle  coal,  .  126 

Even  when  poor,  valuable  when  in  the  midst  of  oil  wells, .  90 

Coals  of  one  group  never  all  thick  and  good  at  any  one  locality, .  25 

Thickness  always  exaggerated  in  oil  well  records.  (Note), . 122 

Coal  of  fabulous  size  in  Robert  Allen  well  (f.  13), .  42 

Thick  coal  beds  may  be  too  thin  to  notice  in  neighboring  wells,  .  .  .  89 

Kitt.  Upper  C.  unusually  thick  (5')  at  Martinsburg,  Parker  T.,  .  .  .  124 
Kitt.  Middle  C.  locally  thick  (5  )  at  Central  Point,  Fairview  T.,  .  .  .  89 

Freeport  Lower  C.  locally  (13'  to  14')  at  N.  Washington,  .  .106,108,  109 
Coal  in  sandstone, . 22,  23 

16  Y. 


242  Y. 


GEOLOGICAL  INDEX. 


Page. 

Mercer  C.  locked  in  between  Homewood  and  Conn.  SS.  (104'),  Se- 

ceder’s  bridge, . .  68 

With  underclay  squeezed  up  into  its  lower  bench,  at  Beattie’s  (Fig.  133),  194 
Split  into  two  beds,  15'  apart,  Scrubgrass  and  Clarion,  .  .  .  .  .  26,  27,  120 
Scrubgrass  under  Ferrif.  L.  seen  in  fine  section,  below  Wolfs  creek,  97 


Coke  from  Unionville  coal, .  50 

Compass  surveys  interfered  with  by  oil  pipes, .  4 

Cone-in-cone  structure  in  limestone, . 144 

Conglomerates, .  31 

Connoquenessing  Sandstone  seen  but  once  in  the  whole  of  N.  Butler,  .  33 

Contour  map  of  Parker, .  4 

Crinoidal  stems  in  limestone, . 146 

Cross  belt,  see  Belts  above, . 150 

Cutting  120  high,  clean  and  complete,  at  Parker, . 117 

Dip  formula ;  see  also  in  Prefatory  letter, . 216 

Northward  locally  from  the  Millerstown  axis,  . 56,  57 

60'  to  the  mile  in  SS.  cliffs,  Buffalo  creek,  Donegal  township,  .  .  57 

from  the  Harrisville  axis,  in  Ferrif.  L.,  Worth  township,  ....  63 

from  the  Martinsburg  axis,  Parker,  visible  to  the  eye, . 120 

In  gangway  of  Barnes’  Bank  over  Harrisville  axis, . 128 

Calculated  at  Bethel  (20';  19i’;  10';  15'  to  the  mile),  Sharon  C.,  .  215,  216 
40'  to  the  mile;  steep  into  Martinsburg  synclinal ; 

70'  to  80';  1>  to  2  m., . 39;  119;  201 


Divide  between  Allegheny  river  and  Beaver  river  waters  described,  83,  125 


Capped  by  Mahoning  Sandstone  in  Concord  township, .  83 

Drift  abundant  over  Ferr.  L.  outcrops  in  Worth  township, . 6,  60 

Driller’s  nomenclature, . 150,  166 

Erosion  of  the  country, . . .  6 


Of  the  Freeport  group  previous  to  the  deposite  of  the  Mahoning  Sand¬ 
stone,  .  17,  35,  195,  202 


Erratic  blocks  on  the  highlands, . 6,  7 

Exposure  of  the  Clarion  group  on  Slippery  Rock  creek,  very  fine,  ...  97 

Flood  plane  of  the  Allegheny  river  valley  once  at  a  much  higher  level,  .  5 

Fossils  of  the  Ferriferous  Limestone.  List, . 146 

Gas  wells.  Wolf  Creek  well  threw  the  water  100' above  the  derrick,  .  .  100 
Jack  Farm  well  1500'  deep.  Gas  apparently  local.  Water  thrown 

high,  . 112 

McMurray’s  well,  threw  the  water  30  to  40  feet  above  derrick  at  first,  132 
Newcastle  well.  Lawrence  county, . 204 

Gas  sand,  so  called,  in  Donegal  township=Fourth  Sand, .  55 

Glacial  drift.  (See  Drift  above), .  6 

Gnarled  blocks  of  Homewood  Sandstone  characteristic, .  33 

Gorge  of  Bear  creek  at  Parker, . 115 

Gravel  deep  in  valley  bottoms, .  6 

Highlands  along  the  First  tier  of  townships ;  Levels  above  tide,  .  .  6 ;  36 

Of  Clay  township  capped  by  Mahoning  Sandstone, .  78 

Of  Washington  township,  great  dividing  ridge,  1500'  to  1575'  ....  93,  105 
Of  Slippery  Rock  township  seldom  exceeds  1300' above  tide,  ....  94 

Of  Parker  township  ravined  by  Bear  creek  waters, . 114 

Of  Mercer  township  (1400')  capped  by  Freeport  Lower  Sandstone,  .  126 


GEOLOGICAL  INDEX. 


Y.  243  . 


Tage. 

Of  Marion  township,  fertile  but  exhausted, . 130 

Of  Venango  township,  great  dividing  ridge, . 133 

Hocking  Valley  in  Ohio,  .  .  .  . 222 

Horizon  of  Sharon  Coal  investigated, . 185 

Horseback  in  Smith’s  bank  (Free  Lower  C.)  Washington  T.  bad  but 
narrow.  In  Pisor’s  bank  (Kittanning  M.  C.)  Worth  T.  cuts  out  the 

bed, .  61 

Intervals;  maximum  at  Rose  point  between  Fer.  L.  and  Home.  S.  75'  .  .  69 

Iron  ore,  nodules,  pots,  in  blue  slate,  Worth  township, .  69 

With  Freeport  Upper  Limestone,  Clay  T., .  80 

Replaces  Freeport  Lower  Limestone, . 147 

Thin  over  Ferriferous  Limestone  in  Parker  township, . 119 

In  pockets  under  Freeport  Lower  coal,  North  Bear  creek,  Parker  T.,  123 

Buhrstone  ore,  discussed  §81, . 144 

Of  Mercer  group  seen  on  Bear  creek,  Parker  township, . 187 

Of  Ferriferous  Limestone  between  Wirtemburg  and  Homewood  Fur¬ 
nace,  . 191 

Nodular, . 224 

Key  sections,  Butler  County  Coals  ;  Kittanning  group, . 26 ;  29 ;  196 

Key  rock  for  Geologists;  for  Oil  men.  Ferriferous  Limestone,  .  147,  148,  151 

Lepidodendra  in  Sharon  Sandstone, . 224 

Levels  of  Highlands  and  dividing  ridges, .  6 

Of  Ferriferous  L.  to  show  Martinsburg  Anticlinal,  Parker  T.,  .  .  120,  121 

Of  oil  wells  and  oil  sands,  §  86,  §  86, . .  156,  166 

Lime  for  soil  not  much  used  by  farmers, . 8,  37,  125 

Limestone  outcrops  improves  natural  soil  even  when  the  bed  is  thin,  .  .  94 

Limestone  plenty  (Ferr.  L.)  in  Worth  township  ;  sometimes  lacking,  60,  64 

Hard  to  find  on  the  smooth  slopes  of  Brady  township, .  71 

Of  Freeport  Upper  Limestone  poor, .  20 

Improves  the  natural  soil  of  the  summits  of  Washington  town,  .  105 

Of  Freeport  Lower  Limestone,  non-fossiliferous, . 147 

Of  Ferriferous  Limestone,  discussed  in  Chapter  X, . 141 

Near  Kartliaus  (Johnstown  Cement  bed?), . 141 

Gray  member  on  top  ;  blue  member  below, . 146 

Shows  plainly  white  on  the  beaten  roads, . 146 

Makes  a  Rock  city, . 131 

Thick  (20'?)  in  water  well  Worth  township, .  67 

Thinned  to  nothing  on  Beaver  river,  . 192 

Variable  (4'  to  20')  in  very  short  distances,  Parker  township,  .  119 

Of  Mercer  Group,  seldom  both  seen  at  one  locality, . 189 

Same  as  Zoar  Limestones  of  Ohio? . 222 

Reported  at  215'  in  the  Nesbitt  well.  (See  Mercer  below.)  ...  47 

Of  No.  XI,  Mountain  Limestone, . 222 

Absent  from  the  North  Butler  district, .  33 

Lime  nodules,  clay  incrusted, .  21 

Local  coal  bed,  Currie, . 22,  23 

Margin  of  the  Freeport  Group  deposit,  . 18,  19 

Mercer  Group  seen  once  (at  Parker,  in  Bear  Creek  gorge), . 117 

Nowhere  else  cut  down  to  in  North  Butler  district, . 125 

See  Limestone  (Mercer)  above. 

Maucli  Chunk  Red  Shales  of  XI  ? .  221,  222,  221 


244  y. 


GEOLOGICAL  INDEX. 


Page 

Oil  discoveries  ruin  the  farms  of  a  locality, .  86 

Of  wine  color,  hard  to  pump.  Six  Points, . 138 

Oil  sands  need  not  be  coarse  to  yield  good  oil.  Note, .  87 

One  well  produced  3,000  barrels  per  day, .  88 

See  Oil  Sands,  oil  belts,  &c.,  in  Geological  Index  a.  See  Chapter  XI,  138 

Oil  scarce  in  Oakland  township, .  52 

Mecca  oil  rock  at  Sharon, . 226 

Parallelism  of  measures  illustrated, .  15 

Pipe  lines  numerous, .  4 

Pocono  Sandstone  No.  X  ;  Pottsville  conglomerate  No.  XII.  See  Geolog¬ 
ical  Index  a. 

Preglacial  drainage  and  water  basins, . 6,7 

Red  rocks  of  XI  and  IX.  See  Geological  Index  a. 

Deep  in  John  Smith  well ;  spreads  through  the  country, .  222,127 

Rock  City  made  by  huge  blocks  ot  Ferriferous  Limestone, . 131 

Salt  water  in  New  Castle  well, . 206 

Sands,  sand  rocks.  See  Oil  Sands,  &c.,  in  Geological  Index  a. 

Sandstone  changes  to  shale  ;  thins  to  nothing, .  189,200 

Mostly  shale  (Mahoning  SS.)  in  Concord  township, .  84 

Caps  the  highlands.  See  Highlands  above, . .  71 

Forms  (Freeport  L.  SS.  15')  the  roof  of  the  Kitt.  Upper  C.,  in  Brady 

and  Venango  T., . 75,134 

Not  hard  or  massive  in  Mercer  township, . 127 

Homewood  SS.  seldom  massive  in  Marion  township, . 130 

Solid  (Conn.  SS.)  for  150  to  160  feet  in  Parker  City  cliffs, . 117 

Solid  (Homewood  and  Conn.  SS.)  for  104' at  Seceder’s  Bridge,  ...  68 

Soft  sandstone,  sometimes  mistaken  for  Limestone  in  the  wells,  ...  47 

Sharon  Coal  horizon  survey.  See  Horizon  above, . 228 

Absent  from  North  Butler  county, . 33,31 

Sink  holes  show  limestone  outcrops, . 146 

Soil ;  of  Slippery  Rock  township, . 7 ;  94 

Split  in  the  Clarion  Coal  bed  to  make  the  Scrubgrass? . 26;  27 

Subcongiomerafe,  subcarboniferous,  . 223 

Swamp  deposit  of  the  Sharon  Coal?  . . 217 

Synclinals  described  and  traced, .  9 

Topography;  map,  . 1,  2 

Type  section  at  Parker,  §  104.  See  Index  of  Sections,  . 115 

Valleys  broad  and  gently  sloping;  filled  with  drift;  canons,  .  .  2;  6;  7;  101 

Variability  of  Coal  beds  and  their  horizons, .  49,  50,  53 

Of  Ferriferous  Limestone  locally;  15'  on  one  side  of  Whiskey  run; 

0'  on  the  other, . .  142 ;  143 

Of  the  Conn.  SS.  at  Parker  Elevator, .  33 

on  Beavet  river;  in  wells, . . . 117;  217;  219 

Waverly.  See  Geol.  Index  a. 

Wells  numerous  but  dry  west  and  southwest  of  Greece  City,  Concord 

township, .  86 

White  Limestone, .  43 

Wiidcatting  wells, . 152 


INDEX  TO  SECTIONS.  V.  245  - 

C.  Geological  Sections. 

Page. 

Fig.  1.  General  Section  of  the  Barren  Measures, .  14 

“  2.  General  Section  of  Lower  Productive  C.  M., .  16 

“  3.  Diagram  showing  the  Clarion  Coal  Split, .  27 

“  4.  General  Section  of  the  Conglomerate  Measures, .  32 

“  5.  Portersville  Section, .  37 

“  6.  Bailey’s  Coal  Bank, .  38 

“  7.  Grist  Mill  Coal  Bank, .  38 

“  8.  White’s  Coal  Bank, .  39 

“  9.  Ralston  Coal  Bank,  .  39 

“  10.  Melvin  Coal  Bank, .  49 

“  11.  Myers’  Coal  Bank, .  49 

“  12.  Burn’s  Coal  Bank, .  41 

“  13.  Robert  Allen  Well  Section, .  42 

“  14.  Robert  Allen  Coal  Bank, .  43 

“  15.  Robert  Allen  Coal  Bank, .  44 

“  16.  Baker’s  Coal  bank, . 44 

“  17.  English  Coal  bank, .  44 

“  18.  Near  Prospect  Section, .  45 

“  19.  Wigton  &  Shannon  banks, .  45 

‘  *  20.  McCandless  Coal  bank,  . . . .  .  46 

“  21.  McCandless  Coal  bank, .  46 

“  22.  Heck  Coal  bank, .  49 

“  23.  Leibold’s  Coal  bank, .  51 

“  24.  Kearn’s  Branch  Section .  51 

“  25.  McCandless  farm  Section, .  52 

“  26.  Boydstown  Section, .  53 

“  27.  Rider  Coal  bank,  . i .  53 

“  28.  Whitmore’s  bank, .  54 

“  29.  Karns  City  Coal  banks, . 56 

“  30.  Conway  Coal  bank, .  56 

“  31.  O’Brien’s  Coal  bank, .  57 

“  32.  Iron  Bridge  Section, .  60 

“  33.  McCracken’s  Coal  bed, .  62 

“  34.  Studebaker’s  bank, . 62 

“  35.  Book’s  Coal  bank, .  62 

“  36.  Shaw’s  Bridge  Section, .  64 

“  37.  Currie  Coal  bank, .  64 

“  38.  Currie  Local  Coal  bed, .  65 

“  39.  Currie  Vertical  Section, . 65,  66 

“  40.  Humphrey  Section, .  66 

“  41.  Davis  Coal  bank,  .  67 

“  42.  Seceder  bridge  Section, .  68 

“  43.  Forest  Mills  Section, .  69 

“  44.  Rose  Point  Section,  .  69 

“  45.  Kennedy’s  Mills  Section,  .  70 

“  46.  McCracken’s  Bridge  Section, .  70 

“  47.  Elliott’s  Bridge  Section, . *  .  70 

“  48.  Mouth  of  Wolf  Creek, . .  .  71 

“  49.  West  Liberty  Section, . . .  72 


246  Y.  INDEX  TO  SECTIONS. 

Page. 

Fig.  50.  Martin  Coal  bank, .  72 

“  51.  Lutz  Coal  bank, .  73 

‘  52.  Davis  Coal  bank, .  73 

“  53.  Stone  House  Section, .  74 

“  54.  Graham’s  Coal  bank, .  75 

“  55.  Weber  Coal  bank, .  76 

“  56.  Glenn’s  Coal  bank, .  76 

“  57.  Sunbury  Section,  .  78 

“  58.  Thompson  Coal  bank, . 79 

“  59.  McMichael’s  Coal  bank, .  79 

“  60.  Glenn  Coal  bank, .  80 

“  61.  Mock  Coal  bank, .  81 

“  62.  Young  Coal  bank, .  81 

“  63.  School  Flouse  Coal  bank, .  82 

“  64.  School  House  Section, .  82 

“  65.  J.  Joung’s  Coal  bank, .  84 

“  66.  Jamison’s  Coal  bank, .  85 

“  67.  Big  Bear  Creek  section,  .  88 

“  68.  Lucas  Coal  bank,  .  88 

“  69.  Watson  Coal  bank,  . .  89 

“  70.  Central  Point  Coal  bank, .  89 

“  71.  Mrs.  Storey’s  Coal  bank .  91 

“  72.  Railroad  Coal  bank, .  91 

“  73.  Gardner  Coal  bank, .  91 

“  74.  Barnhart  Coal  bank, .  92 

“  75.  Nolan’s  Coal  bank, .  92 

“  76.  R.  H.  Weakley  bank, .  95 

“  76.  Hayes  Bank,  (sain  Fig.  as  for  Weakley  bank,) .  95 

“  77.  New  Hope  Woolen  Mills  Section, .  95 

“  78.  McKee  Section, .  96 

“  79.  McKnight  Section, .  97 

“  80.  Wolf  creek  Section, . 97 

“  81.  Croker’s  coal  bank, . 08 

“  82.  Croker’s  Coal  bank, .  98 

“  83.  Keister  Section, .  99 

“  84.  Wick’s  Mills  Section, .  99 

“  85.  (Plate  YI)  Wolf  Creek  well  No.  2  Section, . 100 

“  86.  Slippery  Rock  Forks  Section, . 102 

“  87.  Galloway  Coal  bank, . 102 

“  88.  Cherry  Township  School  House  bank, . 103 

“  89.  Annandale  Section,  . 103 

“  90.  Black’s  bank, . 104 

“  91.  Black’s  coal  bank, . 104 

“  92.  Hockenberry  coal  bank, . 104 

“  93.  Five  Points  Section, . 105 

“  94.  Burnett  South  Section, . 107 

“  95.  Burnett  North  Section, . 107 

“  96.  Smith’s  coal  bank, . 108 

“  97.  North  Washington  Section, . -  .  .  109 

“  98.  McGarvey  bank  No.  1, . 110 

“  99.  Glenn  coal  bank, . 110 


INDEX  TO  SECTIONS.  Y.  247 

Page. 

Fig.  100.  Near  Glenn’s  bank.  Section, . Ill 

“  101.  West  of  North  Washington.  Section . Ill 

“  102.  Rumbaugh  Section, . 113 

“  103.  Rumbsugh  Coal  bank, . 114 

“  104.  Parker  Section, . 116 

“  105.  Bear  Creek  Section, . 118 

“  106.  Martin  burg  Section, . 119 

“  107.  Martinburg  Coal  bank, . 120 

“  108.  Stone  House  Coal  bank, . 120 

“  109.  Gibson  &  Eoock  Well  Section, . 121 

“  110.  Collins  Coal  bank, . 122 

“  111.  Near  McCafferty  farm  Section, . 123 

“  112.  Story  farm  Coal  bank, . 124 

“  113.  Barnes  Coal  bank, . 127 

“  114.  Courtenay’s  Mills  Section, . 129 

“  115.  South  of  Murrinsville.  Section, . 130 

“  116.  McMurry’s  Run  Section,  . 131 

“  117.  Ray’s  Coal  bank,  . . 132 

“  118.  Murrin’s  Cannel  Coal  bank, . 134 

“  119.  Murrinsville  Section, . 134 

“  120.  Higgins’  Coal  bank,  No.  1, . 135 

“  121.  Higgins’  Coal  bank,  No.  2, . 135 

“  122.  Blymiller  Coal  bank,  . 137 

“  123.  Chambers’  Coal  bank, . 138 

“  124.  First  Sand  Section, . 139 

“  125.  Van porte  Section, . 142 

“  226.  Systematized  Section  of  Lower  Productive  Coal  Measures,  .  186,187 

“  127.  Wirtemburg  Section, . 189 

“  128.  Homewood  Furnace  Section . 189 

“  129.  Slippery  Rock  Creek  Section, . 191 

“  130.  On  Cunningham  farm  Section, . 191 

“  131 .  Below  Homewood  Furnace  Section, . 192 

“  132.  Clinton  Section, . 193 

“  133.  Beattie’s  Coal  bank, . 194 

“  134.  Clinton  Section  No.  2, . 195 

“  135.  Wampum  Section, . 198 

“  136.  Hog  Hollow  Section  No.  1, . 201 

“  137.  Hog  Hollow  Section  No.  2, . 202 

“  138.  Hog  Hollow  Section  No.  3, .  203 

“  139.  New  Castle  Section, . 203 

“  140.  Harbor  Bridge  Section,  . 207 

“  141.  Nashua  Section, . 208 

‘‘  142.  Pulaski  Section, . 210 

“  143a.  Bore  Hole  on  Love  farm, . 211 

“  1436.  Bore  Hole  near  Greenfield, . 211 

“  144.  Middlesex  Section, . 212 

“  145.  Bethel  Section, . 213 

“  146.  Quarry  near  Bethel  (Cuyahoga  Shale), . 214 

“  147.  Pacific  Slopo  Section,  . 215 

“  148.  Sharon  Section, . 218 

“  148.  John  Smith  Well  Section, . 226 


248  Y. 


INDEX  TO  SECTIONS 


Page. 

Fig.  149.  Wolf  Creek  Well  Section, . 227 

“  150.  Sharon  Well  Section,  . . 227 

“  151.  New  Castle  Well  Section, . 228 

“  152.  Ohio  Section, . 228 


Second  Geological  Survey  of  Pennsylvania. 


REPORTS  FOR  1874,  1875,  1876,  1877,  1878,  AND  1879. 


The  following  Reports  are  issued  for  the  State  by  the  Board  of  Commis- 
missioners,  at  Harrisburg,  and  the  prices  have  been  fixed  as  follows,  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  terms  of  the  act : 

PRICES  OF  REPORTS. 

A.  Historical  Sketch  of  Geological  Explorations  in  Pennsylvania 
and  other  States.  By  J.  P.  Lesley.  With  appendix,  containing  Annual 
Reports  for  1874  and  1875  ;  pp.  226,  8vo.  Price  in  pap’er,  $0  25  ;  postage,  $0  06. 
Price  in  cloth,  $0  50 ;  postage,  $0  10. 

B.  Preliminary  Report  of  the  Mineralogy  of  Pennsylvania — 

1874.  By  Dr.  F.  A.  Genth.  With  appendix  on  the  hydro-carbon  compounds, 
by  Samuel  P.  Sadtler.  8vo.,  pp.  206,  with  map  of  the  State  for  reference  to 
counties.  Price  in  paper,  $0  50;  postage,  $0  08.  Price  in  cloth,  $0  75;  post¬ 
age,  $0  10. 

B  *  Preliminary  Report  of  the  Mineralogy  of  Pennsylvania  for 

1875.  By  Dr.  F.  A.  Genth.  Price  in  paper,  $0  05 ;  postage,  $0  02. 

C.  Rcport  of  Progress  on  York  and  Adams  Counties.  By  Persifor 
Frazer,  Jr.  8vo.,  pp.  198,  illustrated  by  8  maps  and  sections  and  other  illus¬ 
trations.  Price  in  paper,  $0  85  ;  postage,  $0  10.  Price  in  cloth,  f  1  10 ;  post¬ 
age,  §0  12. 

CC.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Counties  of  York,  Adams,  Cum¬ 
berland,  and  Franklin.  Illustrated  by  maps  and  cross-sections ,  show¬ 
ing  the  Magnetic  and  Micaceous  Ore  Belt  near  the  western  edge  of  the  Meso¬ 
zoic  Sandstone  and  the  two  Azoic  systems  constituting  the  mass  of  the  South 
Mountains,  with  a  preliminary  discussion  on  the  Dillsburg  Ore  Bed  and 
catalogue  of  specimens  collected  in  1875.  By  Persifor  Frazer,  Jr.  Price,  81  25 ; 
postage,  80  12. 

D.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Brown  Hematite  Ore  Ranges  of  Le¬ 
high  County,  with  descriptions  of  mines  lying  between  Emaus,  Alburtis, 
and  Foglesville.  By  Frederick  Prime,  Jr.  8vo.,  pp.  73,  with  a  contour-line 
map  and  8  cuts.  Price  in  paper,  80  50  ;  postage,  80  04.  Price  in  cloth,  80  75 
postage,  80  06. 


DD.  The  Brown  Hematite  Deposits  of  the  Siluro-Cambrian  Lime¬ 
stones  of  Lehigh  County,  lying  between  Shimersville,  Millerstown, 
Schencksville,  Ballietsville,  and  the  Lehigh  river.  By  Frederick  Prime,  Jr. 
8  vo.,  pp.  99,  with  5  map-sheets  and  5  plates.  Price,  $1  60;  postage,  $0  12. 

E.  Special  Report  on  the  Trap  Dykes  and  Azoic  Rocks  of  South¬ 
eastern  Pennsylvania ;  Part  I,  Historical  Introduction.  By  T.  Sterry  Hunt. 
8  vo.,  pp.  253,  Price,  80  48 ;  postage,  80  12. 

F,  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Juniata  District  on  Fossil  Iron  Ore 
Beds  of  Middle  Pennsylvania.  By  John  H.  Dewees.  With  a  report  of  the 
Aughwick  Valley  and  East  Broad  Top  District.  By  C.  A.  Ashbur- 
ner.  1874-8.  Illustrated  with  7  Geological  maps  and  19  sections.  Price, 
82  55  ;  postage,  80  20. 

G-.  Report  of  Progress  in  Bradford  and  Tioga  Counties.  I.  Limits 
of  the  Catskill  and  Chemung  Formation.  By  Andrew  Sherwood.  II. 
Description  of  the  Barclay,  Blossburg,  Fall  Brook,  Arnot,  Antrim, 
and  Gaines  Coal  Fields,  and  at  the  Forks  of  Pine  Creek  in  Potter 
County.  By  Franklin  Platt.  III.  On  the  Coking  of  Bituminous  Coal. 
By  John  Fulton.  Price,  81  00 ;  postage  80  12. 

H.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Clearfield  and  Jefferson  District 
of  the  Bituminous  Coal  Fields  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  By  Franklin 
Platt.  8vo.,  pp.  296,  illustrated  by  139  cuts ,  8  maps,  and  2  sections.  Price  in 
paper,  81  50  ;  postage,  80  13.  Price  in  cloth,  81  75 ;  postage,  80  15. 

HH.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Cambria  and  Somerset  District 
of  the  Bituminous  Coal  Fields  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  By  F.  and 
W.  G.  Platt.  Pp.  194,  illustrated  with  84  rvood-cuts  and  4  maps  and  sections. 
Part  I.  Cambria.  Price,  81  00 ;  postage,  80  12. 

HHH.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Cambria  and  Somerset  District 
of  the  Bituminous  Coal  Fields  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  By  F.  and 
W.  G.  Platt.  Pp.  348,  illustrated  by  110  zvood-cuts  and  6  maps  and  sections. 
Part  II.  Somerset.  Price,  80  85 ;  postage,  80  18. 

HHHII.  Report  of  Progress  in  Indiana  County.  By  W.  G.  Platt. 
With  a  colored  map  of  the  county.  Price,  80  80 ;  postage,  |0  14. 

I.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Venango  County  District.  By  John 
F.  Carll.  With  observations  on  the  Geology-  around  Warren,  by  F.  A.  Ran¬ 
dall  ;  and  Notes  on  the  Comparative  Geology  of  North-eastern  Ohio  and  North¬ 
western  Pennsylvania,  and  Western  New  York,  by  J.  P.  Lesley.  S  vo.,  pp. 
127,  with  2  maps,  a  long  section,  and  7  cuts  in  the  text.  Price  in  paper,  80  60; 
postage,  80  05.  Price  in  cloth,  80  85;  postage,  80  OS. 

II.  Report  of  Progress,  Oil  Well  Records,  and  Levels.  By  John 
F.  Carll.  Published  in  advance  of  Report  of  Progress,  III.  Price,  80  60 ;  post¬ 
age,  80  18. 

J.  Special  Report  on  the  Petroleum  of  Pennsylvania,  its  Pro¬ 
duction,  Transportation,  Manufacture,  and  Statistics.  By  Henry  E.  Wrigley 
To  which  are  added  a  Map  and  Profile  of  a  line  of  levels  through  Butler, 
Armstrong,  and  Clarion  Counties,  by  D.  Jones  Lucas;  and  also  a  Map  and 
Profile  of  a  line  of  levels  along  Slippery  Rock  Creek,  by  J.  P.  Lesley.  8  vo., 
pp.  122 ;  5  maps  and  sections,  opiate  and  5  cuts.  Price  in  paper,  80  75 :  post¬ 
age,  80  06.  Price  in  cloth,  81  Q0;  postage,  80  OS. 

K.  Report  on  Greene  and  Washington  Counties — Bituminous  Coal 
Fields.  By  J.  J.  Stevenson,  8  vo.,  pp.  420,  illustrated  by  4  sections  and  2 
county  maps,  showing  the  depth  of  the  Pittsburg  and  Waynesburg  coal  bed 

00 


beneath  the  surface  at  numerous  points.  Price  in  paper,  $0  65  ;  postage,  $0  16. 
Price  in  cloth,  $0  90 ;  postage,  $0  18. 

KK.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Fayette  and  Westmoreland  Dis¬ 
trict  of  the  Bituminous  Coal  Fields  of  Western  Pennsylvania. 
By  J.  J.  Stevenson ;  pp.  437,  illustrated  by  50  wood-cuts  and  3  county  maps , 
colored.  Part  I.  Eastern  Allegheny  County,  and  Fayette  and  Westmoreland 
Counties,  west  from  Chestnut  Ridge.  Price,  $1  40 ;  postage,  $0  20. 

KKK.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Fayette  and  Westmoreland 
District  of  the  Bituminous  Coal  Fields  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  By 
J.  J.  Stevenson.  Part  II.  The  Ligonier  Valley.  Illustrated  with  107 
wood-cuts ,  Opiates,  and  2  county  maps ,  colored.  Price,  $1  40 ;  postage,  $0  16. 

L.  Special  Report  on  the  Coke  Manufacture  of  the  Youghio- 
gheny  River  Valley  in  Fayette  and  Westmoreland  Counties,  with 
Geological  Notes  of  the  Coal  and  Iron  Ore  Beds,  from  Surveys,  by  Charles  A. 
Young ;  by  Franklin  Platt.  To  which  are  appended :  I.  A  Report  on  Methods 
of  Coking,  by  John  Fulton.  II.  A  Report  on  the  use  of  Natural  Gas  in  the 
Iron  Manufacture,  by  John  B.  Pearse,  Franklin  Platt,  and  Professor  Sadtler. 
Price,  f  1  00 ;  postage,  $0  12. 

M.  Report  of  Progress  in  the  Laboratory  of  the  Survey  at 
Harrisburg,  by  Andrew  S.  McCreath.  8  vo.,  pp.  105.  Price  in  paper,  $0  50; 
postage,  $0  05.  Price  in  cloth,  f>0  75 ;  postage,  $0  08. 

N.  Report  of  Progress.  Two  hundred  Tables  of  Elevation  above  tide- 
level  of  the  Railroad  Stations,  Summits  and  Tunnels  ;  Canal  Locks  and  Dams, 
River  Riffles,  &c.,  in  and  around  Pennsylvania ;  with  map.  By  Charles  Allen. 
Price,  $0  70 ;  postage,  $0  15. 

O.  Catalogue  of  the  Geological  Musuem.  By  Charles  E.  Hall. 
Part  I.  Collection  of  Rock  Specimens.  Nos.  1  to  4,264.  Price,  $0  40 ;  post¬ 
age,  $0  10. 

p.  Atlas  of  the  Coal  Flora  of  Pennsylvania  and  of  the  Carbon¬ 
iferous  Formation  throughout  the  United  States.  Price,  $  ; 

postage,  $0  22. 

Q.  Repqrt  of  Progress  in  the  Beaver  River  District  of  the  Bitu¬ 
minous  Coal  Fields  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  By  I.  C.  White;  pp. 
337,  illustrated  with  3  Geological  maps  of  parts  of  Beaver,  Butler,  and  Alle¬ 
gheny  Counties,  and  21  plates  of  vertical  sections.  Price,  $1  40;  postage, 
$0  20. 

Other  Reports  of  the  Survey  are  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  and  will  soon 
be  published. 

The  sale  of  copies  is  conducted  according  to  Section  10  of  the  Act,  which 
reads  as  follows : 

*  *  *  “Copies  of  the  Reports,  with  all  maps  and  supplements, 

shall  be  donated  to  all  public  libraries,  universities,  and  colleges  in  the  State, 
and  shall  be  furnished  at  cost  of  publication  to  all  other  applicants  for 
them.” 

Mr.  F.  W.  Forman  is  authorized  to  conduct  the  sale  of  reports ;  and  letters 
and  orders  concerning  sales  should  be  addressed  to  him,  at  223  Market  street, 
Harrisburg.  Address  general  communications  to  Wm.  A.  Ingham,  Secretary. 

By  order  of  the  Board, 

WM.  A.  INGHAM, 
Secretary  of  Board. 

Rooms  of  Commission  and  Museum  :  Address  of  Secretary : 

22$  Market  Street ,  Harrisburg.  22$  Market  Street ,  Harrisburg. 


(3) 


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